Untitled [reclining female nude with left arm above head] 1955 - 1967

Editor: So, here we have Richard Diebenkorn's "Untitled [reclining female nude with left arm above head]" made with pencil sometime between 1955 and 1967. It's such a simple drawing, just a few lines, but it feels complete, almost peaceful. How do you read this work? Curator: The reclining nude, of course, carries a considerable legacy in Western art, evoking Venus and other goddesses associated with beauty and leisure. However, Diebenkorn's approach feels more intimate, less about idealized beauty and more about the real, lived-in body. Notice how the lines aren't perfectly smooth. There's a subtle tension there, between vulnerability and power. Do you feel that tension? Editor: Yes, definitely. It's not polished, it feels very immediate and raw, but powerful. Almost like you're seeing something private. Curator: Exactly. It brings up questions of voyeurism. But then, the subject is reclining; there’s an element of classical repose. Consider too the tradition of the Odalisque in Western painting – but what do you see in how Diebenkorn shifts away from or subverts these references? Editor: It’s like he’s stripping away all the exoticism, focusing on just the form, and doing so with very rudimentary tools, like the humble pencil. Curator: Indeed. The seeming simplicity of the pencil lines only heightens that sense of immediacy and vulnerability, recalling something like the raw cave paintings of Lascaux – that human urge to record and represent the body. This act also implies a dialogue on artistic intent in the process of the gaze. What lasting impression does that leave on you? Editor: That connection to the origins of image making is really interesting. It makes me think about how we are always reinterpreting the same basic themes in new ways. Thanks, this was insightful. Curator: A fascinating connection, and a reminder that art, even in its most seemingly simple forms, carries echoes of our collective past.