Untitled [seated man with his legs extended] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated man with his legs extended using what looks like graphite on paper. I can feel him there, feeling the body of the model with his eyes, slowly, and then quickly making marks with a pencil to capture what he sees, but it is also what he feels. It must have been so quiet in the studio, the model holding still in this slumped, casual pose. I can imagine the air conditioner humming away, and the artist completely focused on the job, feeling the pressure of the pencil in his fingers. Look how loose the drawing is: not labored, but energetic. What's amazing is how the artist found the essence of the figure, the character through the quick strokes and lines, without describing the face. It reminds me of Matisse, the way you can say so much with so little. You see how one artist borrows from another, keeping the conversation of art going through time.