Banquet of Women French School - late 19th century Oil on canvas 302 x 202 cm The imposing painting can be traced back in stylistic and iconographic terms to the Franco-Belgian Symbolist sphere between the end of the 19th and the very first years of the 20th century. The monumentality of the format, unusual for a simple school production, suggests a representative destination or at any rate a project conceived with scenographic ambitions, consistent with the aestheticising and theatrical climate of the fin de siècle.The composition develops according to a vertical layout articulated on several registers, organised as in a theatrical staging. In the foreground appears a frontally posed figure, with a deliberately ambiguous identity (perhaps Félicien Rops, as we will analyse later), seated with outstretched arms and his head adorned with floral elements, in front of a vase of flowers arranged in the centre of the scene. Behind her is a table laid with fruit, cruets and floral compositions, around which are gathered female figures differently characterised by their physiognomy, attitude and expressive intensity. In a dominant position, in the upper part, a central figure with raised arms emerges against a decorative background with geometric motifs that acts as a backdrop and accentuates the two-dimensionality of the whole. The entire scene presents the typical fixity of the tableau vivant: the poses are static, the arrangement of the bodies appears designed to construct a symbolic rather than narrative balance, the light is not naturalistic but internal and concentrated, as if to suggest a ritual dimension. The objects arranged on the table - glass cruets, flowers, fruit, eggs - take on an allusive value that refers to initiatory and transformative symbolism, consistent with the esoteric culture widespread between Paris and Brussels in the last decades of the 19th century. From this perspective, the scene can be read as an allegorical representation of an initiatory ritual or celebration interpreted in a feminine manner, with clear erotic-symbolic implications.From a stylistic point of view, the work reveals a synthesis between narrative tension and decorative construction. The masses are treated by relatively compact backgrounds, with a certain attention to the pictorial surface, while the ornamental background contributes to compressing space and reducing perspective depth, in a manner not far removed from the solutions adopted in the Pont-Aven environment and, more generally, in the culture of the Nabis. However, compared to the more orthodox synthetism, here the theatrical component and iconographic density are more accentuated, with an intense and dramatic colour scheme that favours reds, browns and amber tones.The comparison with the production of Félicien Rops is particularly striking for the ambiguous and desecrating quality of certain figures and for the symbolic-erotic setting of the scene. In particular, the presence of a character with an uncertain, almost disguised identity and the allegorical construction of the feminine as a space of seduction and rituality recall motifs typical of Ropsian culture. However, it should be noted that Rops' monumental pictorial production is limited in comparison to his extensive graphic and engraving activity, and that the language of the Belgian master is characterised by a more incisive and satirical stroke, whereas a softer and more atmospheric pictorial drafting prevails in the painting under examination. A further area of comparison is the broader French Symbolist culture, also in relation to the tradition of Gustave Moreau and his pupils, in terms of ornamental density, scenic construction and the centrality of the enigmatic female figure. Even in this case, however, the painting seems to be placed in an intermediate position, more narrative and less valuable on a technical level, but consistent with the fin de siècle temperament.The historical documentation relating to the work, although not conclusive in terms of attribution, attests to its interest in the institutional sphere. A letter from the Musée d'Orsay, dated 18 June 1980 and signed by the curator Geneviève Lacambre, mentions the "grande peinture de l'École de Pont-Aven" belonging to the owner's collection and requests photographic documentation. Subsequently, a letter from the Soprintendenza per i Beni Artistici e Storici di Roma, dated 6 April 1996, regarding the painting referred to as 'Banchetto di donne, French School 19th century', expressed interest in viewing the work on the occasion of an exhibition dedicated to Félicien Rops, indicating a possible connection with the artist. In addition to this, there is a critical file prepared by Dr. Rosanna Barbiellini Amidei, which proposes an in-depth reading in a symbolist-esoteric key and emphasises the cultural links with the Ropsian environment, with Rose+Croix and with the context of Pont-Aven and the Nabis.