Untitled [female nude reaching for elbow of male nude] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this untitled drawing of two nudes with what looks like pencil on paper. Look how the marks are so spare and searching, as though he’s trying to find the figures within the whiteness of the page. It’s all about process. The figures are really just outlines, simple gestures, but that’s enough to suggest weight and volume. There's no shading, just lines that define the contours. The woman’s arm reaching for the man's elbow creates a kind of tension. Is she comforting him, or is there something more going on? And notice the slightly awkward, almost childlike quality to the drawing. The perspective’s a little off, the proportions a bit wonky. But that’s part of its charm, right? This drawing reminds me a bit of Matisse's line drawings – that same sense of capturing the essence of a form with the fewest possible strokes. It's all about suggestion, leaving space for the viewer to fill in the blanks. And that’s what makes art so engaging.