Guo Xi. Old Trees, Level Distance, ca. 1080. Handscroll, 34,9x104,8. Metropolitan Museum of Art N-Y

Guo Xi (1020–1090) was a court professor, a literatus, a well-educated painter who developed an incredibly detailed system of idiomatic brushstrokes which became important for later painters. One of his most famous works is Early Spring, dated 1072. The work demonstrates his innovative techniques for producing multiple perspectives which he called "the angle of totality."