Untitled [standing female nude holding the arm of a chair] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a standing female nude holding the arm of a chair with crayon on paper. The smudgy, dark marks create a dynamic push and pull between the figure, the chair, and the enveloping darkness. The physical act of drawing is palpable here. You can almost feel the pressure Diebenkorn exerted, the way he layered the crayon to build up tone and form. Notice the area around the figure's legs: a flurry of short, energetic strokes that suggest both form and movement. It’s like he’s carving the figure out of the surrounding space. Looking at this work, I'm reminded of how Edgar Degas used the language of drawing to capture fleeting moments. But where Degas might focus on capturing a sense of graceful movement, Diebenkorn seems more interested in the weight and presence of the body. It’s a drawing, yes, but it feels almost sculptural in its mass.