Madonna of the Star 1424

Fra Angelico painted this ‘Madonna of the Star’ in Florence, Italy, surrounding the Virgin and Child with a halo of twelve stars. These are no ordinary stars; each contains a black cross, evoking the heraldic emblem of the Stella family. This motif, the star, is a potent symbol, found across cultures and epochs. In antiquity, stars guided seafarers and symbolized divine guidance, and in Christian iconography, stars are associated with the Virgin Mary. One cannot help but recall the earlier association of stars with pagan goddesses, their celestial bodies mirroring the heavens, with the endless cycle of death and rebirth. These crosses inside the stars, each one unique, resonate deep within us, stirring a sense of familiarity, as though drawn from a collective memory. It is a powerful emotional image, tapping into our primal connection with the cosmos. In its cyclical progression, the star has resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings across the ages.