(b Wen xian, Henan Province, c. 1020; d c. 1090). Chinese painter and theorist. He is considered one of the most important of the late 11th-century masters. Guo Ruoxu ( fl 11th century), a minor official at the court of Bianliang (modern Kaifeng), in the Tuhua jianwen zhi (‘Experiences in painting’; 1075) described Guo as supreme among the landscape painters of his generation. Other contemporary critics acclaimed his creativity, the spontaneity of his composition and the dexterity and versatility of his brushwork. Guo’s ideas on the principles of landscape painting, as recorded by his son Guo Si ( fl c. 1070–1123) are also important.

• Guo Xi
  • China, §V, 1(ii): Painting: Song to Qing
  • China, §V, 3(iv)(a): Landscape painting: Historical development
  • China, §V, 4(i)(c): Court painters: Song
  • China, §V, 4(ii): Literati painters and institutions
  • Song dynasty, §1: Northern Song
  • groups and movements
    • Yi Che-hyon
  • works
    • China, §XV, 1: Art training: Traditional
    • Ke Jiusi
    • Scroll, §2(i): East Asia
    • Xu Daoning
  • writings
    • China, §V, 3(iv)(a): Landscape painting: Historical development
    • China, §V, 3(iv)(b): Landscape painting: Theoretical writings