What is the difference between photograph taken by an eyewitness to an event and a painting depicting the same event?

A photograph is a primary source while the painting is a secondary source. The photograph taken by an eyewitness is a primary source because the photographer is present during the actual event, while the painting created later from the memories of the events is a secondary source because the painter is not present during the event. He/She merely uses the memory of the event for the painting.

A primary sources is direct and firsthand experience about an event, person or object.They are original materials on which a research is based. Memoirs, diaries, interviews and surveys are considered as primary sources. Secondary sources are the interpretations, analysis, evaluation and summary of primary sources.It is not the direct or first hand account of an event. Secondary sources include textbooks, bibliographies, reference books, magazine articles and treatises.