The celebrated Belgian Surrealist René Magritte (1898-1967) made works from his observations of the ordinary, yet, they conjured the most astonishing elements of surprise in the viewer. There is a deep silence in his works which have been listened to by several designers of book covers. And Karl Baden, a photographer and member of the Boston College Studio Arts faculty compiled an exhibition of book covers that resonate with Magritte’s art. From February 13 - March 19, 2006, La Culture des Idées: Book Cover Design and The Spirit of Magritte was on display at Bapst Art Library on the campus of Boston College. As part of his introductory text to this exhibition, Jeffery Howe, Professor of Art History at Boston College and authority on René Magritte, explains: These are not Magrittes; the book covers in this exhibition are inspired by him and appropriate his imagery. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Magritte might be said to be one of the most flattered of artists…We show here a few of the works from the exhibition.