An oversized soldier looms protectively over a group of Egyptian people engaged in a variety of daily activities: a wedding, a mother nursing her baby, children drawing and riding bikes, a couple lovingly embracing. In the distance a plantation, a village, a factory and a group of factory workers are depicted. Painted in the crippling aftermath of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, The Protector of Life offers an image of strength, but also caution: the soldier securely holds his rifle in one hand, whereas his other tenderly shields and protects the people going about their daily lives.