Untitled [woman in a checked skirt resting on her side] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this ink drawing of a woman in a checked skirt resting on her side. Look at the way he's rendered her figure with these confident, searching lines. I can almost feel him circling around the form, trying to capture her weight and the subtle curves of her body. See how the lines vary in thickness, some bold and decisive, others tentative and light? It makes me wonder about the moment he made it. Was it a quick sketch, a fleeting impression captured on paper? Or did he labor over it? I’m really drawn to the contrast between the solid lines of her body and the delicate cross-hatching of her skirt. It’s like he's playing with different ways of seeing, inviting us to look closely and piece together the image. It’s a nod to Matisse, with its pared-down approach and focus on form. It’s a reminder that artists are always in conversation, building on each other’s ideas and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.