There is a very popular saying that states “a picture is worth a thousand words”, and in most if not all cases that is true. Analyzing paintings or pictures can be extremely difficult as it is a constant search for the right words to describe what your eyes can see. This can make the meaning of paintings difficult to understand or have meanings that seem ambiguous. Pawel Kuczynski is an artist well known for making thought provoking paintings that are relatively simple. They are simple because there isn’t a whole lot of detail compared to well-known paintings such as Olympia by Manet; although his paintings are known to have very controversial meanings. The one that seems the most intriguing and that people have found difficult to fully understand is Kuczynski’s war baby piece. After looking at other people’s thoughts on the painting there seems to be confusion on a generally accepted theme or meaning of the painting. The mainstream theme is that a guarded front makes the most peaceful countries but after a close analyzation it shows that there is an alternate different meaning. 

The popular belief that is taken away from the painting is that the author is attempting to portray that guarded fronts make the most peaceful countries. The philosophy of the front is due to the army men being placed in only one side of the painting and that the baby isn’t actually playing with the army men. Instead, the baby is playing with a dove that has an olive branch in its mouth. The dove and the olive branch are universal signs for peace and since the army men are enclosed in a certain portion of the painting a main takeaway is that they are a front for a country or society. If the army men were facing the same direction to show that they were guarding the baby in the painting, then only having two of the four facing the bottom of the painting is a little bit suspicious. The two that are in the upright position wouldn’t even be facing the same target. There is just very little evidence to make the assumption that they are making a front with that little evidence. 

After more closely analyzing the painting a new and more controversial meaning is brought to attention. First off, the focus of the painting is the baby who happens to be in a military helmet. If Kuczynski wanted to meaning to be that peace is made by guarded fronts, then why would he have the baby in a helmet? If the meaning is altered to, societies are raising children to believe that peace can only be achieved through war, then it would make sense for the baby to be in the helmet. Children are raised in today’s society thinking that war is a good solution to problems that countries face with such a focus being put on the military. Army men are on the forefront of children toys and almost every kid has played with them at some point or another. The war genre is present in many forms of society with many top selling movies and video games based on this theme. This work is trying to say that because people grow up believing that peace has to be achieved through combat, which leads to the military being a huge part of culture. 

The painting has a negative feeling to it, which is no surprise as Kuczynski’s works are usually anti-war themed. People of Polish descent know all about the many conflicts and turmoil that Poland has been involved in over time. Stretching back to its heavy involvement in World War Two it has been either directly or indirectly involved in six wars along with other sorts of invasions or conflicts. The negative atmosphere is primarily created by the lighting’s dark red color, especially on the outskirts the color is a very dark red if not black. What is interesting is that red is usually used as a warm color, and with heavy lighting on the dove and the baby it creates a very interesting mood. If someone were to try and describe the painting to someone, it would create the idea that most of the painting has a warm feel other than just the outside. But the shading on the baby and the black outline of the dove continue the sinister feel of the painting even in the heavily lighted center. 

Looking at the perspective of the work, the viewer is looking a little bit down on the baby. It gives the feeling of a bird’s eye perspective even though the eye level seems to be relatively low. After closely analyzing the decision of this view, a few conclusions can be made right from the start. First off, the viewer is supposed to be on a different level from the baby; the viewer looks at the baby from a judgmental standpoint analyzing the baby’s actions. Second, the choice of the background color being red makes this a fictional scenario as the color red is very rarely a ground color. These two points may seem self-explanatory and pointless, but it is crucial for the possible meanings the author could have by making the subtle decisions. With this information as a base, two possible conclusions can be made. In regards to the red background, it could symbolize blood and the number of people that die in order to maintain peace. If Kuczynski wanted a dark theme for the work it would have been better conveyed as a cooler color. Alongside of Kuczynski’s usual themes of anti-war, this could easily be the reason fo the red background. Blood is the main reason red is a warm color that has the potential to add a sinister feel to art. If the red was replaced with another warm color such as orange or yellow and the heavy shading was still present, the dark feeling would be extremely reduced.

Another part of the piece I found needed a close inspection was the perspective of the work. As established before, the eye level is meant to be looking down on the baby and its actions although it is nowhere near something like a bird’s eye view. Kuczynski wanted this specific view for a reason; he wanted the view to tell its own story. That story is that people look down and critique people in society yet, they are the ones in that society. In this case, many people say that they oppose war and conflict but continue to circulate ideas that peace is maintained by war. The obvious example within the painting is the baby playing with the army men and wearing the army helmet. Since the people raising children give off this idea that war or war associated objects are normal in society, it is a big reason that why when the children grow up war isn’t something that is heavily frowned upon. 

The belief that peace can only be achieved by conflict is archaic but passed down as a cultural norm. That is what Kuczynski wants people to recognize when they see this work and realize how society is contradicting itself in its views. On the other hand, without a military or some form of protection a country leaves itself vulnerable to attacks. The fact that peace is made through conflict is the sad reality of society and it has been like that since societies first started forming. Even though it isn’t like the stone ages or where barbarians went raiding from village to village, military strength is needed in order to ensure that the people in a country are safe if war breaks out or even from terroristic attacks. 
