From the Painting Guide: Looking at the composition, the dark band at the back is in the centre of the painting, which should be a 'no-no' as it'd divide the picture in half, but the large, dark figure at the front stops this from happening by breaking up this shape and tying it and the lighter blue on the right together. I find the figures a bit too abstracted and would've liked a little more detail in them to draw in and hold my attention, particularly the figure at the back.

The reflections are well rendered – anything straight up would be reflected straight down in the eye of the viewer – but where are the shadows? There are definite light sources (windows, doors) and there is light falling on the back of the coat of the figure in the front, yet there are no shadows.

There's also no influence in the figures of the light from the doors/windows; I'd expect to see a lighter edge on the side where the light is hitting them. What this does is to isolate the figures from the scene, making it a picture of two distinct elements. A very useful device for creating a specific atmosphere.

Take another look at the perspective on the shop window on the right, which doesn't follow the line of perspective of the ground and top of the building as on the left (see below).