“But when de Chirico later “gave up the fight” around the age of 40, refusing any longer into the depths of abyss, his powers slowly began to diminish, replaced by a psychological tranquility that petulantly refused to make room for any realistic memory of his past”.(Paolo Balducci, The Metaphysical Period, 1997, p. 17)
I guess the above “elongated nude” would be one of the earlier paintings “without inspiration”, whereas say “the gladiators” series of the years 1927-29 would still be on this side of the divide… Apparently Balducci later wrote another book on that series, don’t know if it has been translated into English or whether I can get a hold of a copy.