Anonymous: Madonna of the Fire (15th century)

(Cattedrale di Santa Croce, Forli, Italy)

A print from an unknown artist. This woodcut used to hang in a schoolhouse in Forli where the teacher and children regularly directed their prayers and lauds to it. On 4 February 1428 the school was completely destroyed by a fire but it was discovered that this woodcut miraculously had survived the fire unharmed. The woodcut was taken to and enshrined in the city's cathedral where it became the icon of a flourishing local cult with several miracles ascribed to it. The woodcut itself has an image of Mary and the child Christ in her arm in the center. Around the central image are the Crucifixion, the Annunciation and several saints. Woodcut from the 15th century.