In this final tondo in the In Held series (there is no
picture corresponding to Grand Finale, which confirms one's impression
that the illustrations are primarily responses to verbal detail, not to the mood
of the music itself) our protagonist -- Homo Procoliensis -- is depicted
with his eyes open for the first time. Behind his forehead, a full moon, or sun,
and stars confirm his enlightenment on having learnt to 'look to [his] soul'.
His body grows from an apple, equipped with continents to symbolise the world,
from which a great abundance of human forms is emerging; plant life too, coiling
and fruiting riotously. The combination of images here suggests a Christian
backdrop to the artist's interpretation of the In Held story: the only
dissonant emblem perhaps being the airborne pie, just at the perimeter of the
illustration, level with the young man's nose. Equally enigmatically, the young
man's left arm appears to be in the helical grip of some outgrowth, almost as if
the image foreshadows (or perhaps prompted?) The Worm and the Tree five
or so years later.
| Read
about the origins of this
illustration | The text of the illustration (variants highlighted)
I know if I'd been wiser this would never have occurred Some say that I'm a wise man, some think that I'm a fool
Right, the illustration as it appears on the photocopy sent to Procol Harum in 1971 |
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Features at 'Beyond the Pale' | Previous illustration in this series
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