Untitled [seated female nude leaning right] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated female nude with graphite on paper. The lines are restless and searching. You can almost feel him trying to pin down the essence of the figure. Looking at this, I imagine Diebenkorn in his studio, maybe with music playing, really *seeing* this woman. The pressure of the graphite varies, sometimes a bold statement, other times a whisper. There's a real tenderness in the way he renders the curves of the body, like he’s mapping a familiar landscape. It reminds me of Matisse's line drawings—that same economy and confidence. That line that defines her back? It’s so simple, yet it captures everything. It’s the kind of gesture that comes from a deep understanding of form, and you know he probably made hundreds of these drawings over the years. Artists, we're all just stealing from each other, building on what came before, trying to say something new with the same old tools. It is an ongoing visual conversation.