It was Canova himself, in an exchange of letters with his friend Quatremère de Quincy, who made known the fact that at the end of October 1816 the artist was engaged in the creation of the clay model, as big as the real thing or some what more ”, by the sculptural group of Mars and Venus. The work was commissioned by the Prince Regent of England George IV the year before, who paid double the amount required to ensure the exclusivity of the representation of the subjects. Two plaster casts were obtained from the clay form, while the marble, completed in 1822, was delivered to the English royal collections. It is still kept at Buckingham Palace in London. The choice of the subject was made by Canova himself and involved a novelty. The two figures lend themselves to allegorically celebrating the peace finally restored to the whole of Europe, with the end of the Napoleonic epic and the day after the Congress of Vienna. The goddess Venus, who has always been associated with good luck, well-being, harmony and peace, is here a softly posed figure with soft flesh and legs wrapped in thin drapery. The goddess of Love is poured into her partner's arms, almost intent on distracting him and covering him with flattery. Mars, god of war, is depicted standing, virile, firm in posture, with carefully drawn muscles and holding the spear with his right arm. The shield and sword are placed at their feet, next to a cornucopia with fruits placed to symbolize the return of prosperity and abundance guaranteed by the end of the war conflict. The invention of the two nude and tenderly embraced figures takes up, after twenty years, the formal solution of the youth group of Adonis and Venus. Finally, it is interesting to note how the two opposing and powerful forces oppose each other, but come together in order to create a state of equilibrium.
