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Which earlier landscape painter most influenced Xia Gui’s style?

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Pure and Remote View of Streams and Mountains, detail of hand scroll in ink and paper by Xia Gui, early 13th century (Southern Song); in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan. — Xia Gui *Pure and Remote View of Streams and Mountains*, detail of hand scroll in ink and paper by Xia Gui, early 13th century (Southern Song); in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.

The Chinese landscape painter who most influenced the style of Xia Gui was Li Tang.

Most historical sources agree that Xia Gui followed the stylistic traditions established by Li Tang, a major academy painter whose work served as a vital link between earlier monumental Northern landscapes and the lyrical Southern style of the Ma-Xia school.21

Xia Gui specifically adopted and developed Li Tang’s brushwork techniques, most notably the "ax-cut" texture strokes used to render the tactile, rough surfaces of rocks. While Xia Gui followed Li Tang’s foundational approach, he also introduced his own elements of simplicity and spontaneity, often utilizing subtle ink washes to create atmospheric depth and space.213