Untitled [head of a woman turned right and looking down] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a woman's head with blue ink on paper. It's all about line, an accumulation of marks; the kind you make when you're trying to find something, or figure something out. The texture comes from the density of the lines. Look at the way he's built up the shadow under her chin, a whole bunch of little strokes, almost scribbles, going in different directions. It’s like he’s mapping the form, but also kind of caressing it. There's a tenderness in the way he renders the slope of her nose, that gentle curve. The way her hair is just a dark mass of tangled lines. Diebenkorn was always searching, whether in his figurative work or his abstractions. It feels like he’s right there with you, trying to see, trying to understand. This reminds me of Picasso's drawings, a similar kind of searching line. It's all about the process, the act of looking, and the joy of discovery.