The research paper "Gentileschi, padre e figlia" (1916) by Roberto Longhi (Italian academic, art historian and curator, 1890-1970. The main subjects of his studies were the painters Caravaggio and Piero della Francesca) described Artemisia (1593-1652) as "the only woman in Italy who ever knew about painting, coloring, drawing, and other fundamentals".
Longhi also wrote of Judith Slaying Holofernes:
"There are about fifty-seven works by Artemisia Gentileschi and 94% (forty-nine works) feature women as protagonists or equal to men".
These include her works of Jael and Sisera, Judith and her Maidservant, and Esther. These characters intentionally lacked the stereotypical "feminine" traits - sensitivity, timidness, and weakness - and were courageous, rebellious, and powerful personalities (such subjects are now grouped under the name the Power of Women).
A nineteenth-century critic commented on Artemisia's Magdalene stating, "no one would have imagined that it was the work of a woman. The brush work was bold and certain, and there was no sign of timidness".
