Pablo Picasso Don Quixote of La Mancha 1955 T-Shirt

Picasso drew this in August 1955 for the 350th anniversary of Cervantes, reportedly in a single sitting, and it took about as long to become the definitive image of the book as it did to draw.

A knight, a horse, Sancho on his donkey, two windmills and a sun, all in brush and ink and almost no strokes. Cervantes published the first part of Don Quixote in 1605 and effectively invented the novel; Picasso reduced the whole thing to a silhouette you could recognise at fifty paces. It is the most efficient piece of literary criticism ever committed.

Daddy’s favourite fact about it is the speed. Fifty years of fame for an afternoon’s work.

The shirt itself is the good kind of basic: combed ring-spun cotton, preshrunk, side-seamed so it hangs straight, taped shoulders so the collar doesn’t twist after the fortieth wash. It fits like the tee you’ve had for ten years, on day one.

How to wear it

White tee, linen or pale trousers in summer, dark denim otherwise. An open shirt over it is welcome.