Untitled [nude with her right hand at her pubis] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this nude drawing in charcoal. The marks are so direct, aren’t they? It feels like he put the charcoal right to the paper, not lifting it, just letting the line weight shift with the pressure. I wonder what Diebenkorn was thinking about when he made this? It seems that he’s captured the figure in a single, continuous line; the leg loops around like it’s all connected. There’s also a wonderful shorthand: the face in profile is just a few strokes, but it’s all we need to understand the gesture of the head. I imagine him looking, then drawing without looking, then looking again. I can also imagine how it might relate to his paintings, the way the lines build form through networks. Painters are always looking at each other, aren’t they? I think of Matisse’s line drawings, so economical, so sure. Painting is a conversation across time, where we can see and learn from each other, again and again.