untitled [standing female nude with right arm behind back] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn’s untitled standing nude is an ink wash on paper, with the date currently unknown. The marks are so immediate, with ink dripping down the page, and the figure caught in a moment. You get the sense of Diebenkorn working quickly, trying to capture the essence of the figure. It's so much about the push and pull of dark and light, how the shadow almost becomes another figure alongside the nude. The ink bleeds into the paper, creating soft edges and a real sense of depth. It’s not just about what’s there, but also what’s suggested. Look at the way he defines the figure's leg with just a few strokes, leaving the rest to our imagination. It’s this dance between presence and absence that makes the work so compelling, don't you think? You see this way of working echoed in the work of artists like Willem de Kooning, where the process is just as important as the final image. It's art as a verb, not just a noun.