Untitled [nude with her left foot on a chair seat] 1955 - 1967

This drawing of a nude, with her foot up on a chair, was made by Richard Diebenkorn, but we don’t know exactly when. Look at the sureness of the lines. They feel like they are feeling around, trying to locate the figure on the page, the essence of the pose. The lines have a searching quality, like the artist is thinking with his hand and his eyes at the same time. Diebenkorn’s nudes and figure studies remind me of Matisse, but he’s also got his own thing going on, a kind of edgy, nervous energy. I wonder what it was like to sit for Diebenkorn? To be looked at with such intent, to be translated into a network of lines, to become part of his thinking. I like to imagine all the artists throughout time who have made a drawing of a person. It's an ongoing conversation, an inspiring exchange of ideas. Painting and drawing are embodied expressions that embrace ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.