How did Artemisia Gentileschi’s style differ from that of other women artists of her time?

Women artists working in the 17th century were largely relegated to painting still lifes or portraits, but from the start of her career Artemisia Gentileschi specialized in history painting. A few of her most famous paintings depict the story of Judith, a young Jewish widow who saves her besieged city of Bethulia from an Assyrian army by beheading its general, Holofernes. Gentileschi made at least five versions of this story: Three show Judith and her maidservant, Abra, with the decapitated head (1618–19, c. 1623–25, and 1639/40) and two—Judith Slaying Holofernes (c. 1612–13) and Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1620)—depict the actual decapitation.