The Triumph of Silenus
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
French, 1824–1887
Details
Title
The Triumph of Silenus
Artist/Maker
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (French, 1824–1887)
Date
ca. 1870s
Medium
Terracotta
Dimensions
23 x 14 1/2 x 16 inches
Credit
Purchase with funds from the Phoenix Society
Accession #
1998.93
Location
Currently not on view
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.