Goodbye My Faithful Friend

Sculpture of soldier with a dying horse ©

Inspired by the painting of 'Goodbye Old Man' by Chevalier Fortunino Matania, depicting a British soldier saying goodbye to his dying horse, this was one of eight sculptures by Belgian artist Rik Ryon which were purchased by the Art Fund for the Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum in 2005. Across all theatres of the First World War man befriended the pack horses he relied on to supply his every need. At the outbreak of war Matania became a war artist and was recognised for his realistic images of trench warfare. The painting 'Goodbye Old Man' was commissioned by the animal charity, the Blue Cross, to raise money specifically for the thousands of horses who survived but were damaged by the war. The importance and fate of animals in warfare is seldom mentioned or thought about.

The work of Rik Ryon, from Proven in Flanders, has its roots in a long tradition of trench art. One of the soldiers' favourite pastimes, in or out of the trenches, was to salvage pieces of brass and copper from the used artillery shells to make ornaments to sell or send home to their families. Using the copper driving bands recovered from First World War shells and the debris of First World War dug outs, Rik Ryon carries on these skills and techniques in his sculptures. His figures reflect the artist's deep respect and empathy for the daily life of the soldier. His sculptures hold a remarkable place within contemporary art about war and peace. With the First World War as a central theme, his sculptures are not abstract, but realistic and profoundly human. They provoke and enable the viewer to think about the horrors of war and use their imagination to envisage the personal tragedies that war creates.