Sunday Dalí: Rhinocerontic Disintegration of Ilissas of Phidas, 1954. Oil on canvas, 99 x 126 cm.
Dalí had a keen interest in natural science and mathematics. This is manifested in several of his paintings, notably in the 1950s, in which he painted his subjects as composed of rhinoceros horns. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. He also linked the rhinoceros to themes of chastity and to the Virgin Mary. Dalí was also fascinated by DNA and the hypercube (a 4-dimensional cube).
We can see numerous horns, as well as a hypercube. Dalí is also expressing his fascination with classical sculpture and his memories of Port Lligat in this work.
