Results of the statistical model for the global description of Resolved Transition Arrays are compared, for the first time, with the distribution of the experimental line intensities of a whole spectrum, namely, the Fe I spectrum. In this spectrum, the density of the lines was found long ago to follow a power law versus intensity. The statistical model is applied, using two different assumptions for the configuration populations. In both assumptions, a power law is found, with a 20% discrepancy for the power. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.