Pierre Roy was introduced to the Surrealist group by Giorgio de Chirico (whom of course had also been known to paint a few trains). In the book, "Surrealist Painting" by Simon Wilson (Phaidon Press Limited), the son of Pierre Roy relates his father's emotional state at the time that he painted this work, saying that he "was prey to a deep nervous and above all emotional depression" and that the artist had just recovered from the passing of his wife. I wonder if the document pinned to the wall is some account of the artist's financial difficulties at the time, or perhaps it's a confession from his subconscious (Pierre's son had indicated that his father felt somehow to blame for his wife's death). Such mental disturbances were thus the reason for the dysfunction seen in the painting, Pierre's son further elaborated, in that the snake is pinned to the floor, the hub of the wheel has no hole in it, the wind outside blows in different directions, and "the string of eggs gives no suggestion of life" (I suppose that eggs strung together have likely been emptied of their contents).
Pierre Roy employs the common conceit of Surrealism in this painting, that of making a sinister statement beneath an odd jumble of objects. The playful contrasting colors and bright sunlight are simply the disguise of death. In this regard, the foretelling of doom, Roy's painting has much in common with the unsettling urban landscapes of de Chirico. The door may be open in "A Naturalist's Study", but there's nothing inviting here!
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