Untitled [seated man holding a cup and saucer] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated man holding a cup and saucer using graphite on paper. What's really exciting is the sense of process here; it's like you're watching the artist think through the form, correct it, and find his way. You can really see the hand of the artist in each line, so immediate and unhesitating, it’s amazing. Look at the way the lines define the shape of the cup. See how Diebenkorn uses a kind of shorthand, and a collection of marks, to describe the volume and the weight. It's more than just a study for a painting. It is a drawing about perception itself. This reminds me a little of Matisse, another master of line, in the way he found freedom by embracing a form of abstraction. Both of them show us that art doesn’t need to be about perfect representation but about the pleasure of seeing.