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The first sentence leads me to imagine a torn up painting and a group of people clustered around it.

The second sentences leads me to imagine a large gallery space with high ceilings with a smattering of people in front of one of the paintings.

Both ways have their pros and cons. Describing the space first lets the reader paint a setting for the eventual object of interest.

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That's true, but consider the context; this isn't a novel, it's functional text for someone who is probably trying to accomplish a task. A user in a hurry might skip part way through the second description and be misled to thinking the photo was just a normal picture of a gallery.

Absolutely true in the context of the article ie alt text. I was speaking more universally.

What task are they trying to accomplish with a picture of a torn up painting?

Who knows? Insurance adjuster, private investigator, art historian, security consultant…

I think GP is a great comment with a poor example, because I agree that the resulting images in my mind are quite different, but they don't inherently have to be due to the order things are described in.

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