Berkeley #13 — Fine Art

Berkeley Number 13 by Richard Diebenkorn belongs to the bay area figurative movement, where paint and drawing share one surface. The picture shows a landscape seen through flat colour shapes and light pencil lines.

The print uses a matte fine art paper, so the flat colour fields stay even and the pencil lines keep their quiet feel. A light frame on a dark wall lets the blue read plain, and a dark frame on a pale wall keeps the grey from fading.

In a kitchen with pale tiles, a small lamp throws warm light on the lower shapes and the blue fields hold their tone. From the doorway you notice the broad colour fields first, and closer you see the thin pencil lines that divide them.