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A very lively scenery unfolds on the canvas. The entourage consisting of satyrs, fauns, maenads, nymphs and other lightly clad bacchantes indulge in boisterous revelry. The intoxicating feast is approaching its climax. On the left, the lumbering Silen has already succumbed to the consequences of excessive wine consumption. The fact that it was the consumption of wine that triggered the rampant behaviour is evident by the many carefully painted jugs, pitchers and glasses and the oversized Rummer in the hand of the mocking Maenad to the left. A group forms around the inebriated Silen and hoists him onto the patiently waiting donkey, giving the depiction a slightly coarser theme and embellishing it with humour. This central motif is a frequently recurring element in the oeuvre of the Venetian painter and etcher Giulio Carpioni and also appears, for example, in his "Bacchanal" in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt (inv. no. 1490) or another "Bacchanal" (Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, inv. no. 623).
The appeal of bacchanalian narratives lies in the mythical-poetic atmosphere of the serene world of mixed creatures, their animalistic wildness and exuberant erotic debauchery. At the same time, the moralising admonition to moderation and the consequences of licentious living are brought home.