Miniature Album with Figures and Landscape (Man and Woman)

Zeng employs a restrained palette of soft, muted tones, allowing much of the paper to remain exposed. Brushwork is loose and gestural; the donkey’s tail and the woman’s hand are rendered with swift, almost notational strokes, giving the piece a sketch‑like immediacy that emphasizes movement over detail.

The painting entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings as part of its Asian art collection, though the precise acquisition path is not recorded in public sources. Its date of 1822 places it within the late Qing dynasty, a period when miniature album paintings were popular among literati circles for personal enjoyment.