Untitled [seated female nude leaning on hands] 1955 - 1967

Editor: We're looking at Richard Diebenkorn's "Untitled [seated female nude leaning on hands]," created between 1955 and 1967 using pencil. There’s a raw vulnerability to this drawing. The simple lines almost feel incomplete. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see the echo of ancient ideals. The seated nude is a trope reaching back millennia, a powerful image embedded in our collective consciousness. Think of the Venus Pudica – this posture, a kind of self-conscious covering, simultaneously reveals and conceals. Diebenkorn strips it bare, down to almost skeletal lines, and that intensifies the symbol. It leaves us face to face with our own projections about what femininity means. Editor: So, the sparseness actually adds to the symbolism rather than detracting? Curator: Precisely. The incomplete nature asks the viewer to participate, to fill in the gaps with their own assumptions. It is a shell that encourages empathy and reflection. Does this pose make you feel discomfort? Tenderness? That response becomes the content. Where does that feeling come from within you, do you think? Editor: It's interesting you mention discomfort. I hadn't thought of it that way, but now I do sense a slight tension in her posture, despite its relaxed appearance. Curator: Yes, she seems both present and withdrawn. Notice the closed eyes: Are they closed in sleep? Reverie? Resignation? It becomes a mirror, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. It's more than just a figure study; it is an exploration of vulnerability and expectation, revealed through minimal gestures. I hadn't noticed those depths until now. Curator: And those simple marks manage to carry that immense symbolic weight. Amazing, isn’t it?