He is one of the world’s favourite artists, whose canvasses change hands for millions of pounds among the global elite.
Yet Vincent van Gogh is also a money-spinner for those in more reduced circumstances, including a group of villagers in China.
Dafen, a village community in the town of Schenzhen in Guangdong province, is home to hundreds of alleyway studios where artists churn out thousands of replica paintings every year.
The works, copies of masterpieces by Monet, Rembrandt, Warhol, Picasso and others, sell for around £450 apiece, with turnover reaching more than £65 million in 2015.
Now a Glasgow university lecturer’s documentary on the alleyway artists is to be shown at a prestigious London film festival in celebration of the Chinese New year.
Kiki Tianqi Yu, filmmaking lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland, produced and directed the multi-award winning documentary China’s Van Goghs with her father, Haibo.
It follows one of the painters, Xiaoyong Zhao - who has painted around 100,000 Vincent van Gogh copies between him and his family – as he makes a dream trip to Amsterdam to view the work of his idol.
It will be shown at the British Film Institution (BFI) film festival in London.
Kiki, who lectures on filmmaking and documentary production, said: “The reaction to the documentary has been overwhelming. While the film focuses on Zhao’s passion for van Gogh and how he pursued his dreams, it also tells a story of challenge and struggle, emblematic of the journey China has taken in recent years. Dafen has put itself on the map by creating art that is almost exact copies of masterpieces.”
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