The Babe with Bonnet (The Infant)

Portrait of the "Babe with Bonnet", also known as "The Infant".

(Front View of the Babe with Bonnet)

The Babe with Bonnet, also known as "The Infant", was sculpted in 1943. Nikos Sofialakis modeled the Babe after a neighbor's infant that was fortunate to have survived the harsh winter of 1941-1942 during the Axis occupation of Greece in World War II. This period, known as the Great Famine, witnessed the height of the mortality rate in Greece due to hunger, as the country was plundered by the Axis Powers and simultaneously was blockaded by Allied Forces. The death toll of the Great Famine totalled approximately 300,000 lives before the Red Cross was allowed to enter and distribute supplies to the people in crisis.

This infant is an exposition on the consequences of war as told by the youngest and most vulnerable members of society - the children. The young babe bundled in its bonnet is a testament to human resilience and yet human fragility as it endures the pangs of hunger and war with ineffable sadness.