The inspiration for this work happened in the Bois De Boulogne, when 28-year-old Olovson saw a couple embracing, dappled in the light of the nearby trees. The pair struck him as if they were trees intertwined, separate but growing towards each other as their bond deepened. Beyond them stretched the potential forest they might create together. Olovson from a very young man was obsessed with adherence to the classical tenants of figurative sculpture which he felt were being swept away by the ‘isms’ of recent years. It was not so much a comment or dislike for current art forms, but instead a wish to maintain the long history of figurative art and expression.

Olovson was awarded a gold medal at the 1970 Salon des Artistes at the Grand Palais in Paris for the plaster. It was commissioned the following year for the entrance of Swedish House, in Paris on the Champs-Elysees by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce. This first commission was for the smaller 130cm version of the model as it fit the architecture of the space better.

“This image of the couple, rarely explored – at least in this form – in classical sculpture – strikes me as one of Gudmar Olovson’s most original contributions to modern statuary. It is a fresh, free creation, in the very image of love itself. Nothing can rival a pure gaze to renew a timeless theme.” - Patrice Dubois, Art Critic.

Jean-Pierre Moueix (1913–2003) foresaw the potential of the region's Merlot-based wines and founded in 1937 Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix. Internationally renowned, Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix has become a hallmark for the top wines of Bordeaux. The company is the largest wine merchant on the Right Bank, distributing fine wines from Bordeaux and California worldwide. It is also the owner and producer of several prestigious crus, including Château La Fleur-Pétrus, Château Trotanoy, and Château Hosanna in Pomerol; Château Bélair-Monange Premier Grand Cru Classé in Saint-Émilion; and, in Napa Valley, California, Dominus Estate and Ulysses. Decisively he ordered the first monumental cast of this work and included it in his large collection which included works by Picasso, Monet and Francis Bacon.

The Second cast was ordered by Investor, a Swedish Industrial holding company and the Wallenberg family and then gifted to the French nation, to remember the strength of the relationship between Sweden and France. Placed on the tip of the island in ‘’Lac Superieur’, it has become tradition for lovers to row close to the sculpture and share a kiss for luck. Inaugurated by the Mayor of Paris, the Minister of State and other officials.

Casts were ordered for Falsterbo, the open air museum in Sweden and for Le Jardin de l’Amour, Chateau de Cheverny, Paris.

There is only one cast left from the numbered edition (and a further four artist’s copies may be cast under French law) and they will be cast by Coubertain Foundry - who cast the rest of the edition.