A Printed Icon in Early Modern Italy: Forlì's Madonna of the Fire

by Lisa Pon

In 1428, a devastating fire destroyed a schoolhouse in the Northern Italian city of Forlì, leaving only a woodcut of the Madonna and Child that had been tacked to the classroom wall. The people of Forlì carried that print – now known as the Madonna of the Fire – into their cathedral, where two centuries later a new chapel was built to enshrine it. In this book, Lisa Pon considers a cascade of moments in the Madonna of the Fire's cultural when ink was impressed onto paper at a now-unknown date; when that sheet was recognized by Forlì's people as miraculous; when it was enshrined in various tabernacles and chapels in the cathedral; when it or one of its copies was – and still is – carried in procession. In doing so, Pon offers an experiment in art historical inquiry that spans more than three centuries of making, remaking, and renewal.

310 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2015

Reviews

[Journey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a unique and complete study of the historical life of the image of the Madonna of the Fire found in Forli, Italy, but it is also a study of the numinous experience of the veneration of the image extending to present day. It is fascinating and very well researched. I started reading this book in 2015 or 2016 and I have highlighted many passages which I keep coming back to to re-visit. This may be part of the numinous experience as I am drawn to the image and its simple beauty and the recounting of the stories of the changes it has created in people's lives.