untitled [cigarette smoker in an armchair] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn created this drawing of a cigarette smoker in an armchair using charcoal on paper. The figure reclines, head in hand, with a cigarette held aloft, a pose laden with introspective melancholy. This gesture echoes across centuries, reminiscent of ancient depictions of philosophers in thought, or even religious figures in contemplation, a visual language of pensiveness. Consider the melancholic figure of Hamlet, contemplating mortality. The pose, handed down through art history, evolves. The cigarette, a modern attribute, replaces the skull, yet the underlying theme of contemplation remains. The very act of holding one’s head in hand speaks to a deep, almost subconscious, expression of sorrow or deep thought. It is an archetype that resurfaces time and again, transformed by context, yet retaining its core emotional resonance. The symbolic gesture retains its potency, adapted and renewed across time.