As the daughter of a painter, Artemisia Gentileschi was afforded access to the art world at a young age. Early on, she was in her father’s workshop mixing paints and he supported her career when he noticed that she was gifted. As a famous painter of the Italian Baroque period, Artemisia Gentileschi did not let her gender hold her back from her subject matter. She painted Biblical and mythological (神话的) paintings, just like male painters.

Born in Switzerland, Angelica Kauffman was the daughter of the artist Johann Joseph Kauffman. She received artistic training while acting as her father’s assistant from a very young age and copying the works of old masters as they traveled for commissions (委托). As a young woman, she also trained in Italy, where her historical paintings and portraits were well received.

Like many female artists at the time, Rosa Bonheur’s father was a painter. The French Realist painter is considered one of the most famous female artists of the 19th century, known for her large-format paintings that featured animals. She showed her works regularly at the famous Paris salon and found success abroad in both the United States and Britain.

Considered one of the great female Impressionists, Berthe Morisot had art running through her veins. Born into a noble French family, she was the great-niece of celebrated Rococo painter Jean-Honore Fragonard. Her art often focused on family scenes, and she preferred working with pastels (粉彩), watercolor, and charcoal (木炭).

The best paintings simply take your breath away. Here are some famous paintings you might be interested in.

Our Daily Bread

It was painted in 1886 by Anders Leonard Zorn from Sweden, which depicts (描绘) his mother cooking potatoes for the harvesters. The painting is from his private collection and honors his mother. He was in his mid-20s when he painted it to show how his mother tried hard to support him and the big family. The painting was later bought by National Museum in Stockholm.

Glow of Hope

It is also referred to as Woman with the Lamp. It’s a work of art by S. L. Haldankar. This painting was produced in 1945-46. Haldankar had the idea of painting it at an Indian festival Diwali, the festival of lights, when he saw his daughter in a beautiful Indian dress with a candle in one hand and her other hand protecting the flame from the wind.

Dog Lying in the Snow

This popular work was created in 1911 by a Germany-based artist, Franz Marc. The painting features Marc’s own Siberian Shepherd named Russi. The dog was lying comfortably in the white snow in January, near the village where he lived. The scene shows a creature in harmony with nature.

Portrait of Mari Clasen

It is one of the most famous oil paintings in the world. The Drammen, Norway-based artist Halfdan Johnsen Egedius painted it in 1895. He described the beauty of the Norwegian folk costume-bunad, worn by Mari Clasen, a pretty young woman from South Central Norway. The painting speaks a lot about the beauty and traditions of the country.

The sweet art of painting with caramelized sugar(焦糖) can be witnessed in China’s Sichuan province. This ancient craft still manages to amaze tourists lucky enough to stumble upon a skilled street artist.

According to experts, this type of Chinese folk art originated from the Ming Dynasty when sugar animals and figures were created as part of ceremonies for sacrifice. During the Qing Dynasty, it gained even more popularity and the techniques were upgraded, which resulted in an increased number of patterns, most of them inspired by nature, wildlife and religion. In the beginning, people used molds(模具) to shape the caramelized sugar, but they were gradually replaced with a small bronze (青铜的) spoon that had to be used by talented artists who were experts at the art of normal painting as well.

“Painting” artistic pieces from melted sugar is very different from regular painting. Because the hot sugar cools down very quickly, the painter has to work swiftly, making sure he follows the correct order of strokes(一画，笔画) to get every shape just right. In order to get familiar with the process and the technique, it’s recommended that artists practice normal painting first.

Masters of this centuries-old craft use brown or white sugar as the main material. A bronze spoon and a small spade as tools, and a slab(厚块) of marble as the canvas. The sugar is melted over a fiery pot and spread over the canvas with the spoon. Once the shape is completed, the spade is used to glue a wooden stick to the artwork and to separate it from the marble slab. Then you can have your very own caramelized sugar dragon or tiger and a unique souvenir.

The art is gaining support from both the general public and the government, who had it listed as a Provincial Non-Material Culture Heritage.