painting, oil-paint, oil-on-canvas
baroque
painting
oil-paint
figuration
oil painting
history-painting
italian-renaissance
italy
oil-on-canvas
realism
Dimensions: 54 1/4 x 38 in. (137.8 x 96.52 cm) (canvas)68 3/4 x 52 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (174.63 x 133.35 x 8.89 cm) (outer frame)45 x 39 1/2 in. (114.3 x 100.33 cm) (sight)
Copyright: Public Domain
Aureliano Milani painted "The Miracle of the Madonna of the Fire" using oil on canvas, a common combination for the time, but the real miracle lies in what the image depicts. Notice how Milani uses the materiality of paint to render the scene. The earthly, muted tones capture the grit and toil of the workers, their faces etched with concern. The artist contrasts this with the ethereal glow around the Madonna, achieved through delicate brushwork and layering of pigments. The event depicted occurred in the town of Forlì. During a devastating fire, a humble paper print of the Madonna miraculously survived unscathed. Milani emphasizes the contrast between the destructive force of the fire and the resilience of the Madonna's image. We can appreciate the artist's craft in the way he captures this miraculous event, using his medium to give a visual representation to the social and cultural values of the time. Ultimately, Milani's painting urges us to consider the power of images and the ways in which they can embody hope and resilience in the face of adversity.
Comments
On the night of February 4, 1428, a devastating fire broke out in a schoolhouse in Forlì, a town in northern Italy. Eyewitnesses reported that everything in the school burned except a humble woodcut representing the Madonna and Child. In the foreground, precious books, a writing board, and dishes are scattered amid the chaos. As the bucket brigade and schoolboys race to put out the fire, they witness the woodcut miraculously fluttering to safety. That 15th-century print, by an unknown artist, survives to this day and is now known as the "Madonna of the Fire" (or "Madonna del Fuoco"). It is a treasured possession of the Cathedral of Santa Croce in Forlì, where it is an object of devotion and, reportedly, responsible for miracles. Milani painted this work at the request of Cardinal Fabrizio Paolucci (1651–1726) for a chapel in San Marcello al Corso, Rome. Mia’s picture is a highly finished modello for the larger, almost identical painting hanging in that church. Paolucci was born in Forlì 120 years after the famous fire, but Milani inserted him here as a witness—he’s the cleric at right who points out the miracle to the viewer.
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