Untitled [side view of female nude kneeling on one leg] [recto] 1955 - 1967

This is an undated drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, made with graphite on paper. The post-war period saw a re-engagement with the figure, but this drawing resists the male gaze that often objectifies women. Diebenkorn's nude exists in a space of ambiguity. There is an apparent erasure of her face. We see a faceless form that prompts us to consider the politics of representation, and how identity is constructed through both presence and absence. Her pose, kneeling on one leg, with her face in her hand, may express a sense of introspection or vulnerability. Diebenkorn once said that he was interested in, "a balance between order and change," and here, the lines suggest not a static image, but one in flux. This is not the traditional representation of the passive female nude. The lines of the form appear incomplete, but they resonate with emotional complexity. In this way, it invites us to reflect on the intersection of identity, visibility, and the act of seeing.