Photo By Gail

Salvador Dalí utilized his theory of “nuclear mysticism,” a fusion of Catholicism, mathematics, and science, to create this unusual interpretation of Christ’s crucifixion. Levitating before a hypercube — a geometric, multidimensional form — Christ’s body is healthy, athletic, and bears no signs of torture; the crown of thorns and nails are missing.

The artist’s wife, Gala, poses as a devotional figure, witnessing Christ’s spiritual triumph over corporeal harm. Several dreamlike elements from Dali’s earlier Surrealist work feature in this painting: a levitating figure, vast barren landscape, and a chessboard.

Painted in 1954, Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) By Salvador Dali is part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.