고려시대 산수화는 초기에 청록풍 산수도가 그려졌으며, 중기에는 명화가 이녕에 의해 실경산수화가 태동되고 북송에서 호평을 받았다. 무신집권기인 고려 후기에는 사림(士林)의 형성과산수자연시의 성행과 더불어 회화의 창작과 향유에서 산수화의 비중이 높아지면서 본격적으로 발전하기 시작했다. 이러한 발전은 소상팔경도와 같은 강남경의 수묵풍 산수화와, 북송에서 남송과 금으로 이어진 이곽파 화풍에 의해 주도되었다. 특히 소상팔경도의 수용을 통해 고도의 표현력을 지닌 수묵풍으로의 전환과, 산수화에서의 시화융합 구현과 더불어 기존의 경관성(景觀性)과 장소성의 산수도에 사계(四季)와 석야(夕夜), 풍우와 같은 천문기상성을 더하여 자연미의 재현을 한층 더 확장, 심화시키게 된다. 그리고 12세기 초에 유입된 이곽파화풍이 13세기를 통해 자연주의 양식을 토대로 형식화를 진행하며 전개된 양상은, 고려 말기와 조선 초기 화풍의 양식사적 맥락을 이룬 의의를 지닌다.

During the early years of Goryeo period landscape painting, the blue-and-green style landscape paintings were produced, while the great painter Lee Nyeong founded the early stage of real-scenery landscape painting in the mid-Goryeo era, which received critical acclaims from the Northern Song, China. The late years of Goryeo, the military regime period, was a time for landscape painting to burgeon as it became a major subject of painting in terms of both creation and appreciation. This phenomenon was accompanied by the formation of Confucian groups and the thriving of landscapenature poetry. Two landscape painting styles led such development in painting: the scenery-of-Jiangnan-themed ink-and-wash style landscape paintings and the Li-Guo school painting style. The former, especially by accepting the theme of the Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang, brought numerous changes, including the switch to the highly expressive ink-and-wash style and the realization of social integration within landscape painting. The subjects, originally centered in landscapeness and placeness, became enriched by embracing astronomical-meteorological elements, such as the four seasons, evening-and-night, and wind-and-rain, subsequently broadening and deepening the representation of the beauty of nature. The latter, Li-Guo school painting style, which started in Northern Song dynasty and was bequeathed to Southern Song and Great Jin of China, was introduced to Goryeo around the early 12th century and was formalized based on naturalistic style during the 13th century. This newly conventionalized painting style contextualizes the history of art style from the end of Goryeo to early Joseon period.