Bourgeois Bust was originally created for the Made in Heaven exhibition, in which Jeff Koons explored the concept of love in relation to his own marriage to porn star Ilona Staller. Represented as a marble portrait bust, the couple are depicted within a traditional Baroque style that drew its inspiration from antique classical sculpture. With her plaited hair and string of pearls, Staller appears like Venus, the Greek goddess of love. Declaring sensationally 'We’ve become God' their spiritual and physical union seemingly elevates the pair to a higher realm of idealised existence and ecstasy.