Carrier-Belleuse, the teacher of Auguste Rodin, turned toward the art of the Baroque and Rococo periods for inspiration rather than Neoclassicism. This was largely due to the efforts of Carrier-Belleuse and his fellow artist Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux that a new, more dynamic sculptural style emerged in France in the 1860s and 1870s. The Drunkenness of Bacchus, which depicts Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, riding a donkey and surrounded by nymphs and putti, exemplifies this new style. The exuberant gestures of the figures animate the sculpture, while terracotta, the artist’s preferred medium, gives the work added warmth.