The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 12, 2025

Cat and Butterfly

1788
(Chinese, 1730–after 1788)
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
album leaf, ink on paper
Sheet: 29 x 18.4 cm (11 7/16 x 7 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1985.71.5
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Cat and butterfly are homophones for the characters “mao die” 耄耋 (octogenarian), so this painting expresses hope that the artist's friend will live a long life.

Description

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.

The 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 leaves 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. “Cat and butterfly” is a homophone for the Chinese characters “mao die,” meaning “octogenarian,” and express the wish for the recipient’s longevity. The banana plant stands for the world of literati but can also allude to Buddhism.
  • 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
  • Ding, Nianxian 丁念先. Nian sheng lou du hua xiao ji [念聖樓讀畫小紀 = Chinese calligraphy and painting of various dynasties in the collection of Nianshenglou]. Taibei: Wen xing za zhi she, 1961. Mentioned: p. 41, no. 85
    Fukunaga, Takehiko 福永武彥, and Howard L. Rogers. Kinnō, Bunjinga suihen. chiyūgo (9) 金農, 文人画粋編. 中国篇 9. Tōkyō: Chūōkoronsha, 1976. Mentioned and Reproduced: pls. 94–97, p. 179, fig. 30
    Sotheby's, Parke, Bernet, New York. Fine Chinese Paintings. June 3, 1985 sale. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 69
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 462–465
  • When Salt was Gold: Yangzhou, City of Riches and Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 12-November 5, 2023).
    Gallery 122 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 15, 2000–March 26, 2001).
    Gallery 122 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 29, 1999–January 24, 2000).
  • {{cite web|title=Cat and Butterfly|url=false|author=Min Zhen|year=1788|access-date=12 May 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.71.5