Two-year-old Laurent moves his brush across the canvas with a flourish. It may seem rather random at first, but the little boy from Neubeuern in Bavaria always ends up naming exactly what he has painted: an elephant, a cow or even a seahorse.
Using acrylic paints, the little boy paints colourful, abstract pictures that have caused a stir on the art market. Interested parties from all over the world have made bids, ranging from 10,000 to 270,000 euros (10926 to 295000 dollars), say parents Lisa and Philipp Schwarz
"Of course, I can't say now that he's a talent of the century," says father Philipp. "For me, Laurent is Laurent, who paints because he has fun. I think the results are great. Apparently other people think it's great too," says Schwarz in an interview with Reuters TV, adding that parents are always biased when it comes to their children.
Laurent started painting in autumn 2023 - the family's holiday hotel in Italy had a painting room from which, according to his mother, the little boy could hardly leave. Since then, he has been hard to keep away from the canvas. The two-year-old paints about one picture a week. At the end, he always explains and examines his new work of art together with his mum.
An Instagram account and the laurents.art website showing the little painter’s work has tens of thousands of followers, international media reports and numerous enquiries have been made.
"I actually filmed it for myself because I just thought it was incredibly cute, a little boy in front of a canvas like that, already making such great paintings." says Lisa Schwarz. "Personally, I've already noticed that this choice of colour, that it's simply something extraordinary, that it's not normal."
His paintings were already on display at Munich's largest art fair "art.muc" in April 2024. His first own exhibition is planned for September. Paint and wallpaper manufacturers would like to work with him. But Laurent is one thing above all: a two-year-old boy who loves playing in the ball pit as much as he loves painting. - Report from Reuters
