Untitled [side view of a female nude stretching back in a chair] [recto] 1955 - 1967

Editor: We’re looking at an untitled drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, created sometime between 1955 and 1967, using pencil on paper. It's a quick sketch of a female nude. There's something so vulnerable and immediate about it. What stands out to you? Curator: The image, rendered with such deliberate strokes, seems to capture not just a figure, but a moment suspended in time, a breath held. Notice how the line quality almost mimics the tension in a muscle stretching? What do you think the absence of a definitive title contributes? Editor: Maybe it’s about allowing the viewer to bring their own interpretation, their own emotional landscape, to the piece? I find myself projecting a sense of introspection onto the figure. Curator: Exactly! And that projection is key. The nude, stripped of context, becomes a vessel for universal experiences of vulnerability and self-awareness. Consider how this image taps into our collective memory of art history, echoing classical depictions of the female form, yet subverting them through its raw, unfinished quality. Does it challenge those traditions in any way, in your opinion? Editor: I think so, by revealing the artistic process so plainly, there is an intimacy created in the work. A humanness. Not the perfected goddess. Curator: Yes, it reframes beauty, suggesting its presence even, or perhaps especially, in the imperfect, the fleeting. I appreciate how this simple sketch contains a depth of human connection and artistic expression. It allows us to see, feel, and remember. Editor: It definitely gives you a lot to think about, a fresh perspective, thanks.