As an important part of art, painting, like other arts, has three basic aesthetic functions, including aesthetic pleasure, aesthetic comprehension and aesthetic education. The aesthetic essence and characteristics of art determine that it has the following aesthetic education functions: the artistic image depicted by painting is an image permeated with the artist's rational emotion, and it is a combination of strong emotion and profound rationality. Especially in the images created by some outstanding artists who are full of social responsibility, rational factors consciously stipulate the emotional trend, and it is this positive rational factor that makes the artistic image of painting have special vitality. For example, the portrait of Pope Innocent X painted by the famous Spanish painter velazquez not only accurately depicts the Pope's facial features and flesh and blood, but also depicts the essential characteristics of the Pope, such as power, majesty, greed, fierceness and wealth. It is a good teaching material for people to understand the political and religious influence of European Catholic theocracy. Another example is the portrait of a group of women weavers handing linen to the factory owner painted by German painter Xu Bu? eles. Engels thought: "From the perspective of promoting socialism, this picture plays a much greater role than a hundred pamphlets."

Of course, the three aspects of artistic aesthetic function are interrelated and influence each other. Aesthetic education of painting art is not only the forerunner of aesthetic pleasure, but also the foundation of aesthetic comprehension. The study of aesthetic education of painting art should also combine aesthetic pleasure and aesthetic comprehension.