Ma Yuan

Ma Yuan, Wade-Giles romanization Ma Yüan, (born c. 1160/65, Qiantang [now Hangzhou], Zhejiang province—died 1225), influential Chinese landscape painter whose work, together with that of Xia Gui, formed the basis of the Ma-Xia school of painting. Ma occasionally painted flowers, but his genius lay in landscape painting, his lyrical and romantic interpretation becoming the model for later painters. He was a master of “one-corner” painting, in which visual interest is focused in a corner of the work. His style was often copied, and it is sometimes difficult to separate genuine works from those of his followers.