The Double Dream of Spring by Giorgio de Chirico, 1915.

As I have said before, de Chirico is like surrealism’s once-revered but now estranged father. This is very advanced for 1915 and kind of changed the game for modern artists.

What immediately jumps out to me is the lack of active life, even given the colorful scene. The drawing in the foreground is the same color of the sky. The figure of the man on the left is clearly a lifeless statue, the man in the middle is a drawing, and the figures on the right are standing motionless. The only motion depicted is in the drawing of the train, but because it is merely a sketch, even it seems to be stopped in time.

de Chirico was known for his empty, still paintings, and this is a great one.