The Village That Painted the World: Why Dafen Grew — and What It Reveals About Us
Author- Brian Hawkeswood Nach unten scrollen für die deutsche Übersetzung There is a particular kind of astonishment one feels on first encountering the story of Dafen Village — a place that, at its height, was said to generate over six hundred million US dollars annually by producing hand-painted copies of other people’s art. Not prints. Not posters. Oil paintings. Thousands upon thousands of them. Sunflowers blooming in unison. Water lilies multiplied beyond nature. Starry skies laid down in shifts like factory steel. And one is tempted — as many artists are — to respond with indignation. How is it possible that ordinary painters struggle to sell a single canvas while an industrial enclave built upon imitation thrives? The answer is neither mysterious nor conspiratorial. It is economic, historical, and cultural. And perhaps more revealing abou...