"Study of Pvt. Vasquez" by Axel Bottenberg

From the original painting by Axel Bottenberg. Initially, Bottenberg created this work as an experiment to determine the effect of gold on a painted image. However, he felt the result was much more successful than anticipated. This work is a collage of various ideas: the use of gold is reminiscent of Russian icon painting; it depicts an iconic film still from the movie Aliens; and it contains the emblematic skull image that is a recurring theme in Bottenberg's painting.