The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. Following the Renaissance in Europe, the high aesthetic standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists. Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived from Greece dominated the art of the western world. Only few examples of painting have survived from ancient Greece.

The most respected form of art was paintings on wooden boards painted with wax and tempera. Such paintings depicted figural scenes, including portraits and still-lives; we have descriptions of many compositions. But wall painting and sculpture have survived much better. Stonework and sculpture were painted very colorfully. But what we can learn from is the most copious evidence of ancient Greek painting that survived in the form of vase painting.