
When you need a little death and destruction to go with the morning latte. (Photos by C-M.)
The Museu Picasso in Barcelona is one of those places where if you so much as shift your camera strap on your shoulder, you instantly find yourself surrounded by 17 bruisers in blue shirts who bellow, “Nooo pictures!” The super strict no-photo policy is presumably intended to protect the integrity of Picasso’s sometimes overused imagery . . . so that the museum can overuse it on mouse pads and key chains. Lord knows that nothing respects the dignity of those who died in the Nazi bombing of Guernica quite like slapping an image of their suffering on a mug.
Click on images to supersize. More after the jump.

Guernica key chains: get you ruminating on the Spanish Civil War as you fire up the Navigator.

Are deplorable episodes of war too much for your cuppa joe? Then try this mug, which shows some Picasso figures in the midst of getting frisky. On a related note, I was totally bummed to discover that the museum didn’t have any merch whatsoever related to its Picasso drawing of a fish licking a woman’s cha cha. I mean, hello? That sketch had thong underwear written all over it.

As part of a temporary exhibit at the museum, there was a display of Picasso’s studies of Velazquez’s Las Meninas. You couldn’t photograph any of the pieces. But you could certainly take home this handy mousepad. (The show, which includes Eve Sussman’s Meninas-inspired video, is up through Sept. 28.)

Las Meninas erasers. There’s nothing like eliminating your scribblings with the head of a Spanish infanta.

And now, the pièce de résistance. The Picasso striped shirt (which looked a little jailhouse rock to my untrained eye). Would go well with this incredible little treasure I just found online.
Posted by C-Monster.
That is crazy tasteless to have Guernica on a coffee mug — but, y’know, I kinda want one now.
Have they come out with the Picasso “Demoiselles” perfume yet? It’s in a crystal clear cubist flacon, with topnotes of turpentine, midtones of egomania and sexism, and base notes of turpitude. It’s pretty intense, so maybe they’ll just market the cologne version.
perfect. i’ll buy the first bottle.