Why do I remember paintings better than photographs?

[Maxim]

I can easily remember how Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Van Gogh's 'Self-Portrait' look like and how i feel about them. But when it comes to photographs, even by my favorite photographer (Steve McCurry), I have to make a bigger effort to remember how the picture looks like.

Is this generally true about painting vs. photography?

Anyone has any views to share?

[Critic]

The memorability of painting vs photography is a really a trick of perspective. Painting simply has a longer history than photography to make a lasting impression.
Personally, not many paintings in the last 50 years come to my mind. We all seem to remember the great master's paintings better than anything in the modern times. It's also remember the style of a painter easier than one single painting, as in Picasso.

Morever, paintings are creations from artists' memories and they speak directly to their viewers' memories too, interacting in an intuitive way. Photography works differently. It is literally capturing a fragment of time.
Most famous paintings are the results of artists' weeks or even months of work to realize.
A painting takes more time to make. A lot of thought and planning goes behind the creation of a painting. There are exceptions, but for photographs, creation happens in split-seconds.

Most art critics will tell you that paintings often evoke more emotion than photographs. Photos, especially in straight photography, are literal and less emotive. Paintings are interpretations by the artist and are considered by most to be a higher art form.


Lastly, there are simply so many good photographers but not that many good painters. It's easier to remember a talent when it's rare.