Untitled [seated female nude slouching over chair arm] 1955 - 1967

Editor: This charcoal drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, *Untitled [seated female nude slouching over chair arm]*, made sometime between 1955 and 1967, is striking for its almost brutally honest depiction of the human form. What do you see in this piece, from a historical perspective? Curator: Well, this drawing, even in its seeming simplicity, speaks volumes about the shifting attitudes toward the nude in post-war art. It breaks from idealized portrayals. This is a figure in repose, not necessarily posed to be looked at. Diebenkorn gives us an almost anti-heroic nude. Do you think this challenges traditional power dynamics? Editor: I think so. It feels…vulnerable. There’s no attempt to romanticize the figure. The visible charcoal strokes add to that rawness, pushing against the traditional canon of the "ideal" female form. Curator: Exactly. It's also important to remember that this was created during a period when abstract expressionism was dominant. Diebenkorn, while experimenting with abstraction, consistently returned to figuration. Was that a form of quiet rebellion, perhaps? A refusal to completely abandon the human subject in art? Editor: That's a compelling thought! Maybe clinging to representation offered him a space for personal expression that pure abstraction didn’t quite provide. And given how "serious" and masculine abstract expressionism could be, this more intimate approach almost feels like a counter-narrative. Curator: Indeed. We see Diebenkorn participating in a larger conversation about the representation of the body, and implicitly about who gets to do the representing, and whose bodies are deemed worthy of artistic attention. Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way before, as part of a broader cultural discussion about the body and representation. It enriches my understanding significantly. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. It’s always exciting to discover these connections between art and its surrounding social and historical context.