清 任頤 動物花鳥 冊頁八開|Animals, Flowers and Birds

The eight‑leaf album titled Animals, Flowers and Birds was produced in 1868 in China by Ren Yi, also known as Ren Bonian. Executed in ink and color on paper, each leaf measures approximately 25.9 cm by 32.4 cm. The work belongs to the still‑life genre and features a bird motif.

It was created as part of a series of eight leaves, though no specific commissioning patron is recorded. The album entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view. Its provenance is limited to its acquisition by the museum, with no earlier ownership details documented.

The album is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as recorded in the work's Wikidata entry, which lists the museum as both its collection and location.

No specific accession number, accession date, or exhibition history is documented in the available sources for this album of eight leaves by Ren Yi (Ren Bonian), dated 1868.

Ren Yi’s album, composed of eight paper leaves painted in 1868, presents a series of small-scale scenes that combine birds, flora, and a amphibian. Executed with ink and light colour, each page functions as an individual vignette within a cohesive collection of natural subjects.

In the 1800s Shanghai’s artistic community experimented with looser brush techniques, moving beyond the strict line work of earlier masters. Ren Yi’s album exemplifies this transitional moment, merging established literati conventions with a more dynamic, gestural style that anticipates later modern developments in Chinese ink painting.