Untitled [seated female nude in stockings with right leg over chair arm] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this figure study with ink wash on paper. The values are so deftly handled, you can really see how he understood light. The ink is really allowed to bloom and blossom here. The light washes build up to create these really dark, rich areas where the model recedes into shadow. In the hands of a lesser artist the figure could become muddy and formless, but the process really becomes the point. The way he indicates the swelling curve of the model’s thigh with just a couple of strokes – the confidence! It’s as if he’s daring the medium to do its thing. You know, Diebenkorn was really into Matisse, and you can see that here. He’s not trying to capture every detail, but letting the painting become a document of a creative process, a way of seeing. Like a visual poem.