The Coming of Autumn

work by Guo Xi

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June 24, 2026

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"The Coming of Autumn" is a hand scroll painting by Guo Xi, a renowned artist of China's Northern Song period (960–1127 CE). This artwork is considered a prime example of Song dynasty landscape painting, which skillfully blended descriptive detail with expressive brushwork. Guo Xi's collected notes on landscape painting, Linquan Gaozhi, offer insights into the techniques and philosophy behind this art form. While few of Guo Xi's paintings survive, "The Coming of Autumn" effectively captures the essence of its season and exemplifies the Song accomplishment in balancing visual representation with emotional depth, allowing viewers to "ramble" both physically and mentally within the depicted landscapes.1

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Guo Xi
…and a hand scroll entitled The Coming of Autumn. Both effectively capture the quality of their seasonal interests and are paramount examples of the Song accomplishment, which balanced pictorial description with expressive brushstroke to provide, as Guo himself wrote, landscapes in which one may physically and mentally ramble.
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…and a hand scroll entitled The Coming of Autumn. Both effectively capture the quality of their seasonal interests and are paramount examples of the Song accomplishment, which balanced pictorial description with expressive brushstroke to provide, as Guo himself wrote, landscapes in which one may physically and mentally ramble.
Read More