Ikarus, No Man Dies Alone

Oil on Canvas 20" x 23"

1996

Just 22 at the time of his death, fighter pilot Hans-Joachim Marseille was a superstar of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Impetuous, debauched, and insubordinate, he lived in diametric opposition to the stereotype of the German military man. Eventually arriving in the North African Theater, he was forced to leave behind the distractions of his carousing in Europe. There, in the skies over Libya and Egypt he established a reputation for aerial and combat prowess that stands among the greatest military pilots of all time. At the height of his fame, he would die bailing out of an aircraft that was experiencing engine trouble, not as a result of combat. As great warriors do, he became a legend in death to those that pay attention to that sort of thing. From a different perspective, he became just another of countless children who, having only realized their potential in violence, was ultimately struck down by it. The ironically peaceful circumstances of his death only serves to underscore its arbitrariness.

Available for purchase.

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