Stronger in pure design terms than its predecessor, the second
tondo shows the idealised, long-haired young man in a rustic context,
sitting bare-chested between a pair of trees, one of whose roots his left hand
grasps, while the right-hand holds his knee. His legs are bedecked in
once-fashionable self-coloured loon pants, secured with a belt; in his lap rests
a book which he is apparently not reading, sicne his eyes are closed, whether in
sleep or in meditation it is difficult to ascertain. The book itself is
conspicuously lacking in title, perhaps implying that it is intended for writing
in, rather than for reading – but there is no sign of a pen. Floral undergrowth
burgeons at the young man's feet, but he appears to be sitting on gravel. The
arboreal foliage above him seems less advanced than elsewhere in the image, but
perhaps it is simply a small-leafed variety of tree. The trunks are oddly
stylised, rendered almost as if they were an aggregation or bundle of individual
stems which branch out on reaching a suitable height. Botanists seeking to
identify the species will perhaps be assisted by the single small blossom close
to the words 'works out'.
| Read
about the origins of this
illustration | The text of the illustration (variants highlighted) Though close by that which some
despise They say that Jesus healed the sick and helped the poor Right, the illustration as it appears on the photocopy sent to Procol Harum in 1971 |
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