Rather than distinguishing between an artwork’s genre, medium, or time period, as most critics do, Nietzsche was interested in the interplay between two creative forces that he believed guided artists. Art inspired by Apollo, the god of truth and prophecy, is rational, constructive, and idealistic, while art inspired by Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, is emotional, instinctive, and spiritual. Dionysian art, underappreciated today, can help us accept the hardship of human existence.