Untitled [side view of a female nude in an interior] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this ink wash drawing of a female nude probably sometime in the mid-20th century. The composition emerges through rapid strokes and washes of black ink, almost like a dance between intention and accident. I can imagine Diebenkorn, brush in hand, circling the form, feeling his way through the light and shadow, trying to capture the essence of the figure with a few deft moves. The ink is thin in places, allowing the paper to breathe, while elsewhere it pools and thickens, creating depth and weight. That sweeping stroke that defines the back—it’s so confident, so sure! But then, look closer, and you see the hesitations, the places where he reworked the line, searching for the right inflection. Diebenkorn was in conversation with Matisse and other modern masters, but he was also doing his own thing, pushing the boundaries of representation and abstraction, making something new and personal. Painting is like that. A constant push and pull, an ongoing dialogue between artists across time and space, inspiring one another to see the world in new ways.