Untitled [standing female nude with hands behind head] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this standing nude drawing with charcoal on paper. Look at that delicious cross-hatching! You can almost feel the nubby texture of the charcoal as it moved across the page. I find Diebenkorn’s approach so immediate. It’s all about the push and pull between the form and the space around it. Notice how some lines are dark and defined, while others are light and almost disappear. That one dark zigzag across the torso, it’s like he’s digging right into the paper! The beauty of drawing is in its directness. You can see every decision, every correction. It’s like a conversation between the artist and the paper. In this drawing, I am reminded of the work of Egon Schiele, with its raw, expressive energy, but there is also a tenderness and vulnerability that feels uniquely Diebenkorn’s. It’s a reminder that art isn’t about perfection, it’s about the messy, beautiful process of seeing and feeling the world.