diff --git a/kitty/graphics.c b/kitty/graphics.c
index 62c78e02f..0738b938b 100644
--- a/kitty/graphics.c
+++ b/kitty/graphics.c
@@ -1690,6 +1690,12 @@ grman_remove_all_cell_images(GraphicsManager *self) {
 
 static bool
 clear_filter_func(const ImageRef *ref, Image UNUSED *img, const void UNUSED *data, CellPixelSize cell UNUSED) {
+    if (ref->is_virtual_ref) return false;
+    return ref->start_row + (int32_t)ref->effective_num_rows > 0;
+}
+
+static bool
+clear_filter_func_noncell(const ImageRef *ref, Image UNUSED *img, const void UNUSED *data, CellPixelSize cell UNUSED) {
     if (ref->is_virtual_ref || ref->is_cell_image) return false;
     return ref->start_row + (int32_t)ref->effective_num_rows > 0;
 }
@@ -1764,7 +1770,7 @@ handle_delete_command(GraphicsManager *self, const GraphicsCommand *g, Cursor *c
 #define D(l, u, data, func) case l: case u: I(u, data, func)
 #define G(l, u, func) D(l, u, g, func)
         case 0:
-        D('a', 'A', NULL, clear_filter_func);
+        D('a', 'A', NULL, clear_filter_func_noncell);
         G('i', 'I', id_filter_func);
         G('p', 'P', point_filter_func);
         G('q', 'Q', point3d_filter_func);
diff --git a/kitty_tests/graphics.py b/kitty_tests/graphics.py
index 730929913..e0d05f5a0 100644
--- a/kitty_tests/graphics.py
+++ b/kitty_tests/graphics.py
@@ -607,6 +607,10 @@ class TestGraphics(BaseTest):
         self.ae(len(refs), 2)
         self.ae(refs[0]['src_rect'], {'left': 0.0, 'top': 0.0, 'right': 1.0, 'bottom': 0.5})
         self.ae(refs[1]['src_rect'], {'left': 0.0, 'top': 0.5, 'right': 1.0, 'bottom': 1.0})
+        # Now reset the screen, the images should be erased.
+        s.reset()
+        refs = layers(s)
+        self.ae(len(refs), 0)
 
     def test_unicode_placeholders_3rd_combining_char(self):
         # This test tests that we can use the 3rd diacritic for the most