We recognize a familiar theme: the appealing light and the frustration of the gate keeping it out of reach. What makes this painting really special is the oddity of the framing: we face the interstice between the two houses, and the gate is like a gate to nowhere. But it is indeed in the middle of nowhere that this light is the strongest, passing through the gate and splattering the paved curb, with a convergence of shadows bringing us inexorably back to the light inside.