What makes The Mystery of Magritte excel as an artwork in and of itself and not merely as a CD about art is the wonderful, ingenious presentation that rivals Corbis' Paul C้zanne: Portrait of My World CD-ROM in production value. The disc offers excellent navigation, with animations, photographs and links to dominant symbols in Magritte's works, biography, and the surrealist movement in his time. The navigation is full of hidden surprises which underline the sense of illogic and wonder present in Magritte's works. Throughout the CD, Magritte's use of a very personal set of symbols is illustrated in pictures and animations as well as in critics' words. The paintings can be seen in small, enlarged to full screen, and zoomed in detail, with optional spoken comment often by the artist himself. The index contains a comprehensive database of reproductions.

The Mystery of Magritte is an excellent CD that strikes a good balance between scholarly treatment and whimsical wonder that is central to Magritte's works. There is even a mini-game which asks the user to choose titles for some of the pictures on a multiple choice basis. If you are a Magritte fan like I am, this CD is a must-have. If you are not, the CD will serve as an excellent introduction to the mind of one of the world's most enigmatic artists, and to surrealism in general. Highly recommended.