Igiaba Scego's novel explores Black female artist's life in 19th century

Igiaba Scego, an Italian journalist and writer of Somali origin, published the novel "La linea del colore" with Bompiani in February 2020. The protagonist, Lafanu Brown, an American artist of African and Native American descent, is inspired by real historical figures: sculptor Edmonia Lewis and obstetrician Sarah Parker Remond, both Black American women who lived in Rome in the second half of the 19th century. The book moves between a past shaken by abolitionism in America and the Risorgimento in Italy, and a present where North African peoples risk their lives to emigrate to Europe. Art connects the two timelines. Scego researched Lewis's life, noting that Lewis suffered brutal beatings and possible rape, and relied on white abolitionists for economic support. In Italy, women had more freedom than in the US; Lewis likely enjoyed greater liberty and became an artist in Rome, where she could run a studio with Italian workers and create works addressing social themes like slavery. The novel also critiques contemporary issues: the lack of representation in cultural institutions, the risk of paternalism and exploitation of Black artists, and the superficial engagement with social causes. Scego discusses the difference between US and Italian monuments: she favors preserving Italian colonial monuments with educational context, while US Confederate statues, erected later as insults, should be removed and replaced with reparative monuments.