Untitled [seated female nude with right arm on chair back] 1955 - 1967

This is an undated ink wash drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, showing a seated female nude. Diebenkorn came of age as an artist during and after World War II. The American art world was reckoning with the dominance of European modernism as well as the trauma and anxieties unleashed by the war. Diebenkorn, like many of his generation, explored existential themes through abstraction and figuration, and this drawing reflects that tension. The woman's pose is relaxed, but the stark black ink and the rough, unfinished lines of the drawing evoke a sense of unease. Her gaze is averted, and her expression is difficult to read. We’re left wondering about her story, about who she is beyond the representation of her body. While the female nude has a long art historical tradition, here, Diebenkorn seems to be less interested in idealizing the female form and more invested in capturing a sense of psychological depth. The drawing invites us to consider the complex relationship between artist and model, and the ways in which the female body has been both celebrated and objectified throughout art history.