This ceiling of the Salon du Glacier at the Palais Garnier represents a bacchanalia, that is to say an antic religious festival during which people drank a lot.
This decoration refers to the alcohol served to the audience during intermissions. Actually, most of the great operas of the 19th century used extremely sophisticated sets that couldn’t be changed during the show. Thus, there were often quite long intermissions. That explains why the architect designed numerous spaces for wandering so that the audience could stretch their legs between acts as well as socialize.
The Salon du Glacier is a perfect example. People could come here to admire eight tapestries woven at the Gobelins Manufactory. They depict drinks (tea, coffee, wine, orangeade), food (ice creams, pastries) and scenes of fishing and hunting. A well-thought-out decoration !