Bella Rosenfeld

Bella with white collar, by Marc Chagall, 1917.

Bella Rosenfeld Chagall (Russian: Бэлла Розенфельд-Шагал, 1895, Vitebsk – September 2, 1944, New York State), was the wife of Marc Chagall and a writer. She was the subject of many of Chagall's paintings including Bella with White Collar in 1917.

Timeline of her biography

• 1895 Bella Rosenfeld was born into the wealthy Jewish family of a Vitebsk jeweler.
• 1909 She met Marc Chagall, at that time, a penniless apprentice of Léon Bakst. According to Marc, their love started the moment they saw each other and continued for 35 years.
• 1915 they were married and moved to Petrograd.
• 1916 she gave birth to their daughter Ida.
• 1918 they returned to Vitebsk
• 1922 they emigrated to Lithuania and then to Germany.
• 1924 they moved to Paris.
• 1939 they moved to the south of France
• 1941 arrested in Marseille and then fled to the United States
• September 2, 1944 Bella died from a viral infection
• 1946 Marc Chagall published her most famous book The Burning Lights.

Works

• The Burning Lights, ISBN 0-930395-26-3
• First Encounter, ISBN 0-8052-3768-2

Bibliography

• Shishanov V. «These young people were socialists … ». Participants of revolutionary movement in Marc Chagall and Belly Rozenfeld's environment // Bulletin of the Museum of Marc Chagall. 2005. №13. P. 64-74.
• Shishanov, V. «Wishing to arrive...» (Documents on study Belly Rozenfeld on the Moscow higher female courses)// The Chagalovsky sbornik. Release. 3. Materials X - XIV Chagalovsky readings in Vitebsk (2000-2004). Minsk: «Riftur», 2008. P.176-182.