Emma One of the last works from Keith Haring
Not far from Pisa Railway Station you will find “Tuttomondo” by Keith Haring. This was one of his last public works before he died in 1990.
Student Piergiorgio Castellani met artist Keith Haring whilst on a holiday in New York and invited Haring to visit Pisa and paint a mural. The 180 square meter mural is said to be the largest public mural in Europe and took a week to paint.
Tuttomondo means, “all world” and the mural depicts 30 figures painted in Haring’s cartoon-like style with a theme of peace and harmony. The ‘human’ scissors are the image of solidarity between Man in defeating the serpent (evil), which is already eating the arm of the figure next to it; the woman with a baby in her arms represents maternity, and the two men supporting the dolphin refer to Man’s relationship with nature.
The resulting artwork on the Church of San Antonio is the largest public mural in Europe, measuring 10 meters high by 18 meters wide. The theme of the painting is world peace, as suggested by the title “Tuttomondo,” which translates to “All World.”
Each of Haring’s figures represents a different aspect of peace—for example, a woman holding a baby shows maternity, human scissors cutting the head off a serpent shows triumph over evil, and men with dolphins represent humankind’s relationship with nature. The viewer is also represented by the yellow figure walking toward the famous Leaning Tower.
