Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009831Album of Miscellaneous Subjects
by Min Zhen
Also known as: Paintings; Album of Miscellaneous Subjects 雑畫圖冊
About the Artwork
Min Zhen, who was orphaned at age 12 and developed an eccentric personality, 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 demonstrates Min’s versatility and mature style in the last years of his life.
Inscriptions
予素有怪石之僻。余友戴笠山人嗜予畫，亦猶予之嗜怪石焉。向故訂約，以所好相易。值余奔馳遷延，今夏偶憶及怪石之在吾齋已五載。繪此以踐前言。誌以奇峭為十二冊之終。時戊申六月六日，正齋閔貞謹識。; Six seals appearing on the leaves: Min Zhen 閔貞; Zheng zhai 正齋; Qingqiao 青橋; Zhen 貞; Liao tang 蓼塘; Min Zhen zhi yin 閔貞之印。; 正齋傳世真跡，應推此冊為第一。
Provenance
1788–?: Daili Shanren 戴笠山人 [active late 1700s] Ni Yun 倪耘 [d. 1864] Yan Shiqing 顏世清 [1873–1929] Xu Xiaopu 徐小圃 [1887–1961] c. mid-1900s: Ding Nianxian 丁念先 [1906–1969] ?–1985: (Eskenazi Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1985–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Min Zhen (Chinese, 1730–after 1788)
- Date
- 1788
- Medium
- Album of twelve leaves; ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Each leaf: 29 x 18.4 cm (11 7/16 x 7 1/4 in.); Overall with mount: 35.6 x 22.1 cm (14 x 8 11/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1985.71
More by Min Zhen in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009831
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