Untitled [draped model seated with right foot in chair seat] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a model with graphite on paper. You can see that the lines are light and quick, feeling around for the figure in space. It's like he’s thinking through the model’s pose, trying to understand how the different parts of the body connect, how the weight shifts. Diebenkorn's marks here are like whispers, tentative and searching. I can imagine him squinting at the model, his hand moving almost unconsciously, trying to capture something elusive, that sense of momentary feeling. The draped fabric almost dissolves into the background, so that the tension becomes about the body itself. It reminds me of other drawings by Matisse. It's cool to consider how artists like Diebenkorn were in dialogue with each other, across time and space. They saw and responded to each other’s work, picking up ideas and pushing them in new directions.