painting vs picture

painting

noun
  • An illustration or artwork done with the use of paint. 

  • The same activity as an art form. 

  • The action of applying paint to a surface. 

picture

noun
  • A painting. 

  • Situation. 

  • ("the pictures") Cinema (as a form of entertainment). 

  • A paragon, a perfect example or specimen (of a category). 

  • A representation of anything (as a person, a landscape, a building) upon canvas, paper, or other surface, by drawing, painting, printing, photography, etc. 

  • The art of painting; representation by painting. 

  • An image; a representation as in the imagination. 

  • A figure; a model. 

  • A sample of an illegal drug. 

  • A photograph. 

  • A format string in the COBOL programming language. 

  • An attractive sight. 

verb
  • To depict or describe vividly. 

  • To represent in or with a picture. 

  • To imagine or envision. 

How often have the words painting and picture occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )