'Suddenly It Grabs Him': 2-Year-Old ‘Pi...

A two-year-old boy in Germany is being hailed as a “pint-sized Picasso” after selling his paintings for around $7000 each

Published Time: 31.05.2024 - 22:31:10 Modified Time: 31.05.2024 - 22:31:10

A two-year-old boy in Germany is being hailed as a “pint-sized Picasso” after selling his paintings for around $7000 each.

According to U.K. newspaper The Times, Laurent Schwarz from Bavaria has created a portfolio of abstract paintings of elephants, dinosaurs and horses, among others.

Lisa Schwarz, his mother, tells PEOPLE that one of his paintings called “The People” currently “has well over 3,000 inquiries.”

“This is the most popular painting among all. Mine too, by the way,” Lisa explains. “People write a second, third and fourth time or call a few times just to get this painting.”

Speaking to The Times, the young artist's mother revealed that she noticed her son’s talent while the family was on vacation in South Tyrol, Italy, in September 2023.

“There was a painting room in the hotel and we couldn’t get him out of it,” the 32-year-old mom said. “Just before Christmas we set up a studio for him and he was in it all the time.”

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Lisa decided to set up a page on Instagram of her son’s work, which quickly picked up close to 30,000 followers.

“I thought I’d set up a channel because what he was painting looked so nice,” the proud mother said. “That triggered a real hype.”

Lisa then put some of the paintings up for sale on the website, laurents.art and it has since been snapped up by art lovers from as far afield as the U.K. and the Bahamas. The family was also contacted by a New York gallery, who requested to display Laurent's artwork, reported The Times.

But Lisa tells PEOPLE they "have not yet agreed to any purchase offer" for one of her son's paintings. One of the pieces, titled "The Fingers," -

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; will be difficult for the family to let go of.

"The painting is Laurent's first work," she explains. "We are particularly attached to it, and at this point are not sure whether we will ever let it go."

According to the outlet, a private viewing of Laurent’s art will take place in August in his home village of Neubeuern, with the proceeds being safely stored in a bank account until the budding Picasso turns 18.

“It’s totally up to him when and what he paints,” Lisa told The Times. “Sometimes he doesn’t feel like painting and doesn’t set foot in his studio for three or four weeks but then suddenly it grabs him and he says, ‘Mama, painting.’ ”

Laurent's art sales come after 8-year-old chess prodigy Ashwath Kaushik became the youngest player to ever defeat a grandmaster in an official tournament on February 18.

The Singapore player defeated Poland’s Jacek Stopa, 37, in the fourth round of the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open — and broke a record set the previous month by 8-year-old Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia

“It felt really exciting and amazing, and I felt proud of my game and how I played, especially since I was worse at one point but managed to come back from that,” the boy toldChess.com.

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