If you look closely at the two sharply contrasted buildings you will notice that lightning is not their only distinction. De Chirico intentionally used two contradictory vanishing points (a point in the picture plane that is the intersection of the projections (or drawings) of a set of parallel lines), thus destroying any resemblance to reality. All of the lines of the fully illuminated building on the left meet slightly above the horizon; the alignments of the dark building meet at a point where the truck roof touches the yellow of the ground. One last detail concerning the perspective is an isometric depiction of a truck, or freight car, mysteriously lit by a light coming from…well, nowhere. This juxtaposition of light sources and perspectives enabled de Chirico to create a mysterious and impossible universe where spaces will never converge and the girl will never reach the statue.