Untitled [reclining female nude with glasses] 1955 - 1967

Curator: Immediately striking, this piece seems so simple, so raw, yet so considered. Editor: Yes, there’s an immediacy to the sketchiness. Richard Diebenkorn made this “Untitled [reclining female nude with glasses]” sometime between 1955 and 1967. It is a simple portrait drawing rendered on what appears to be paper. Curator: The social context of post-war American art always informs Diebenkorn's focus. The relaxed, almost mundane depiction of a nude woman, gazing at us while in her glasses, subverts the traditional power dynamics often found in portrayals of the female nude. The drawing seems like a direct confrontation with historical objectification. Editor: I find the composition itself compelling. Look at the economy of line, the areas of almost frantic hatching versus the deliberate blank spaces. It directs our eye where Diebenkorn wants it to go. The chair, only minimally defined, anchors her, creating a stability that is then unsettled by the frenetic scribbles that define her legs. Curator: Do you feel like that fragmentation adds a certain agency back to the figure? I wonder, if we can interpret her slightly confrontational gaze through those glasses as a signifier of resistance against traditional roles. Editor: That’s an interesting idea! Certainly, the glasses themselves present a very contemporary image, distancing this work from the historical canon of the nude, disrupting conventional semiotics. It feels almost... prosaic? It feels almost like an "everyday" image. Curator: Yes! But its strength lies in the tension. Diebenkorn, known for abstract and figurative styles, encapsulates both worlds within this single drawing. This piece, though untitled, reveals a layered narrative about women in the domestic sphere, reflecting the evolving cultural attitudes of its time. It encourages conversation around the portrayal of women. Editor: Well, when you look past the contextual, there’s so much happening simply within its construction— the strategic roughness, the confident lines defining the upper torso contrasted with the almost unfinished quality of the legs, makes it more engaging to the viewer. Curator: Absolutely. Together, those choices make the work stand out. Editor: It is, indeed, memorable.