Untitled [back view of a nude holding her neck with her right hand] [verso] 1955 - 1967

This is an ink drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, depicting the back view of a nude woman, her hand gracefully arching to touch her neck. I can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the paper, responding to the model, to the space around her. The bold, confident lines capture the essence of the figure, while the fainter, exploratory marks hint at the artist's process of discovery. It's like he's feeling his way through the form, searching for the right contours and proportions. I imagine Diebenkorn, charcoal or pen in hand, circling, erasing, and refining his initial sketch. There’s a real tenderness here, a sense of intimacy between the artist and his subject. It reminds me of Matisse’s line drawings – so simple, yet so full of life and emotion. It's a conversation, really, between artists across time, each inspiring the other to see and feel the world in new ways.