Untitled [reclining nude leaning on her left elbow] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this ink drawing of a reclining nude, and I can almost feel the scratching and the dragging of the ink across the page. The dark marks have a definite weight, and the lighter areas feel like quiet rests between phrases. I imagine him circling the model, searching for the right lines, trying to capture her essence, but also just playing with the ink, letting it do its thing. I can really see him in this drawing, wrestling with the figure, finding her in the darks and lights. Those smudges and bleeds? That’s where the magic happens. It's not just about the body, but more about the act of looking, of feeling your way through the darks and lights. The gestural marks communicate a feeling, not just a form. He was so good at this, this searching, this openness. This piece reminds me of other drawings he made, where he kept pushing and pulling at the image until it was just right. Like a conversation, always evolving.