THE BRIDAL CHAIR is a biography on Ida Chagall, daughter of the famous artist Marc Chagall and Bella, his wife and muse. Ida had lived a sheltered life, was home schooled by her parents, who were terribly overprotective of their beloved daughter right up until she committed a gaffe in their eyes. Ida had the gall of falling in love with a young man who was not part of the artistic elite the Chagalls belonged to. Ida became pregnant and when she told her father, he turned to stone. Although Bella and Marc concluded an abortion was the way to deal with the untimely event, Ida was 18 and Michel, her fiancé was but 20 and a student, Marc still insisted they get married or Marc would disown Ida. Michel and Ida were not prepared to get married right away, but since Michel's parents also agreed they should marry, the young couple complied with their parents' wishes. Marc Chagall's wedding gift to Ida was a painting replicating exactly the Chagall salon where Ida's wedding would take place, right down to the bridal chair, a tradition for a Jewish wedding. However Marc's contempt manifested itself in the fact that the bride was literally not in the painting: Ida was forever scorned with her father's refusal to allow her to be her own person.

THE BRIDAL CHAIR is a biography of the famous artist's daughter, however augmented with dialogue invented by Ms. Goldreich, as the author so wisely points out. THE BRIDAL CHAIR rests solidly on documented facts, the fictional parts only added to impart colour and lushness to what might have been otherwise a dry recounting of facts. And I agree that it was an astute choice on Ms. Goldreich's part, because THE BRIDAL CHAIR is a lyrical voyage in the life of the daughter of a typical vain and egocentric artistic genius. Ida was artistically gifted but spent most of her life managing her father's finances and business dealings. The Chagalls were Jewish, although Marc anticipated the fascist persecution, he considered himself untouchable, being the great artist that he was, and Ida was the one who had to do all the work.

Ida Chagall was a very courageous woman as she took upon herself to shield her parents from persecution against the Jews, before and during WWII. THE BRIDAL CHAIR is a superbly written, touching, riveting, magnificent account of a woman who risked her life, denied herself true happiness for years and made too many sacrifices until the day when she could finally acknowledge that the ghost that weighed so heavy on her existence could finally be put away.

Book Summary

An exquisite, haunting exploration of the complex mind of artist Marc Chagall through the eyes of his daughter As a child growing up in 1920s Paris, Ida Chagall copes with her father Marc Chagall's brilliant artistic mind, overbearing ego, and the tight leash he keeps on her. But as Ida blossoms into a young woman, she begins to glimpse freedom and opportunities for herself. When she falls in love for the first time, her father paints "The Bridal Chair" as her wedding present, a symbol of his anger that pierces Ida to the heart. Against a backdrop of the Nazi invasion of France, Ida fights for her own survival as an independent young woman while nurturing the dark creative genius of her parents.