Description
Min Zhen was trained by Tang Yin (1682–1756), a writer, playwright, and superintendent of the imperial porcelain workshops in Jingdezhen. The connection to him may have enabled Min to stay in Beijing for a decade from around 1773. It is not clear whether he ever resided in Yangzhou, but his style is in many instances reminiscent of that of Yangzhou artist Huang Shen.
This album was painted for his friend Dailili Shanren in exchange for a scholar’s stone. The paintings demonstrate the artist’s versatility and mature style in the last years of his life. While two paintings are rendered in unconventional compositions seen from above (Cat and Butterfly CMA 1985.71.5) and below (Banana Plant CMA 1985.71.11), they have a humorous touch. The banana plant stands for the world of literati but can also allude to Buddhism.
This album was painted for his friend Dailili Shanren in exchange for a scholar’s stone. The paintings demonstrate the artist’s versatility and mature style in the last years of his life. While two paintings are rendered in unconventional compositions seen from above (Cat and Butterfly CMA 1985.71.5) and below (Banana Plant CMA 1985.71.11), they have a humorous touch. The banana plant stands for the world of literati but can also allude to Buddhism.
Provenance
Daili Shanren 戴笠山人 [active late 1700s] (1788–?); Ni Yun 倪耘 [d. 1864]; Yan Shiqing 顏世清 [1873–1929]; Xu Xiaopu 徐小圃 [1887–1961]; Ding Nianxian 丁念先 [1906–1969] (c. mid-1900s); (Eskenazi Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1985); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1985–)
Accession Number
1985.71.11
Medium
album leaf, ink on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 29 x 18.4 cm (11 7/16 x 7 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund
