The “enigmatic elements” that appear in this work are assembled beneath a sky notable for its special, intense light. The main figure is that of the painter Vermeer of Delft, whom we see in the central part of the work. Vermeer was one of the reference painters for Dalí, acting as a major influence throughout his entire oeuvre. The landscape he has before him presents — as the title tells us — “enigmatic elements”. Thus, at the bottom right of the work we see Dalí as a boy, dressed as a sailor, holding a hoop and a bone, and beside him, sitting with her back towards us, the figure of a nursemaid engaged in some unspecific task. Both elements recur very frequently for the Surrealist Dalí, and particularly in his work around that time.