Marriage Reveals Mystery

Dalí “said that [Corpus Hypercubus] would be the first picture painted with a classical technique and an academic formula but actually composed of cubic elements” (Dalí, Salvidor n.p.). The classical features can be seen in detail such as the Renaissance-like use of perspective on the sprawling floor and the dramatic lighting on the body; but perhaps most clearly the classical style is shown through the draped clothing of the onlooker, Gala. In the painting Gala puts classicism on display but she also serves to solve a mystery.

The painting also includes small hidden details. The right knee includes 5 images of Dalí’s wife and the left knee includes 5 images of Dalí himself. Putting both himself and his wife on the knees, where the picture still looks only 3D and not 4D shows that humans cannot directly relate to the loftiness of Christ. Also, biblically, the church is referred to as the “Bride of Christ” and all the bride eagerly awaits the return of Jesus Christ, the bridegroom (Ephesians 5, New International Version) After explaining marriage the Bible says, “This is a profound mystery— but I am talking about Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32, New International Version). Perhaps as Dalí sought to use nuclear mysticism to uncover what he called “The mystery of life”  he turned to marriage, a biblical tool for unveiling the mystery of Christ and the church (Nasab 2). This could also explain why he chose to have Gala painted in as the onlooker.