''Tuttomondo'' (English: ''All World'') is a mural created by American artist Keith Haring in 1989. Located on the rear wall of the

Sant'Antonio Abate Sant'Antonio Abate ( nap, Sant'Antuono) is a ''commune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 30 km southeast of Naples. Sant'Antonio Abate borders the following municipalities: Ang ...

church in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, it is one of the last public murals executed before his death from

AIDS-related complications Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

in 1990. It is also one of the few outdoor public works created by Haring for permanent display.

Background

Italian university student Piergiorgio Castellani met artist Keith Haring on the streets of the East Village, Manhattan during his winter-break in 1988. Known for being approachable and creating public murals in international locations such as the ''

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

'' at

Necker Children's Hospital Necker may refer to: * Necker (surname) * ''Necker'' (ship), several ships * Neckerchief, cloth worn round the neck * Necker cube, optical illusion * Necker Island (Hawaii) * Necker Island (British Virgin Islands) Necker Island is a island ...

in Paris about the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

, Castellani invited Haring to "create an impactful work of art" in Pisa, which they began planning at Haring's Broadway Street studio in

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

the next day. In 1989, Castellani's family arranged with the City of Pisa for Haring to realize what he later called one of his most important projects.

Installation

In June 1989, Haring created the 180-square meter mural on the exterior southern wall of the Church of Sant'Antonio Abate. The mural took a week to complete. "Every day there would be more and more people." Haring later recalled. "When I put my last stroke on the wall, it all seems incredibly Felliniesque. It all seems utterly unreal–beyond anything I had ever experienced before." The mural depicts 30 figures painted in Haring' cartoon-like style with an overarching theme of peace and harmony: "The 'human' scissors are the image of solidarity between Man in defeating the serpent (that is 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." ''Tuttomondo'' is often erroneously referred to Haring's last public work, but he created another mural a few months later at the

ArtCenter College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

in November 1989. After its completion, Haring gave the vineyard owning Castellani family an original drawing that could be used as a wine label. For the 30th anniversary of the mural in 2019, they used it on a line of Super Tuscan wines to benefit the artist residency program at Materia Prima.

Restoration

In 2012, the mural was restored by the Department of Public Works of the Municipality of Pisa.

References

{{Keith Haring Paintings by Keith Haring 1989 paintings Murals 1980s murals Tourist attractions in Pisa