Priya Kapoor
Citing a painting in MLA style depends on whether you are referring to a physical painting or a reproduction of it. If you are citing a physical painting, the format is: Last name, First name of artist. Title of work. Date of composition, Name of museum, city of museum. For example: Picasso, Pablo. Violin and Sheet of Music. 1912, Musée National Picasso, Paris. If you are citing a reproduction of a painting that you found in a book, the format is: Artist's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work: Subtitle if Any. Year, Location of Work. Book Title, by Author's Last Name, First Name, Publisher Name, Year of publication, p. number. For example: Wood, Grant. American Gothic. 1930, Art Institute of Chicago. Art History, by Vanessa Jones, Art Publications, 2022, p. 150.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist | Last name, First name |
| Title of Work | Title of the painting |
| Date of composition | Year of creation |
| Location of original work | Name of the Museum or Gallery, City of the museum or gallery |
| Title of Book | Title of the book where the painting is reproduced |
| Editor | Editor's First and Last name |
| Publisher | Publisher name |
| Date of book publication | Year of book publication |
| Page number of reproduction | p. number |
| URL | Include URL at the end of the citation |
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What You'll Learn
Citing a painting viewed online
When citing a painting viewed online in MLA format, you should follow a similar structure to that of a physical artwork. Begin with the artist's name, formatted as "Last name, First name". Then, include the title of the painting in italics or quotation marks, depending on your place of publication's style guide. Next, state the year of the painting's creation, followed by the name of the museum or gallery where the painting is held, and the city in which the museum is located.
For example:
> Picasso, Pablo. *Violin and Sheet of Music*. 1912, Musée National Picasso, Paris.
If you viewed the painting on the museum's website, treat the name of the website as the container (i.e. the "book"), and include the website's publisher and the URL at the end of the citation. You can omit "http://" or "https://". If the website title and the publisher are the same, you can leave out the publisher.
For example:
> Picasso, Pablo. *Violin and Sheet of Music*. 1912, Musée National Picasso, Paris. Musée National Picasso Website, https://museepicassoparis-en.omc.fr/.
If there is no date of publication for the website, include the date you accessed it. The date of access goes at the end of the entry and should be formatted as "Accessed Month Day, Year".
For example:
> Picasso, Pablo. *Violin and Sheet of Music*. 1912, Musée National Picasso, Paris. Musée National Picasso Website, https://museepicassoparis-en.omc.fr/. Accessed September 5, 2023.
If the painting does not have a title, include a description of the image in italics or quotation marks.
For example:
> Picasso, Pablo. Violin and Sheet of Music. 1912, Musée National Picasso, Paris.
The medium of the artwork is an optional element and can be included at the end of the citation, after the final period.
For example:
> Picasso, Pablo. *Violin and Sheet of Music*. 1912, Musée National Picasso, Paris. Oil on canvas.
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Citing a painting seen in person
To cite a painting seen in person in MLA style, you can follow this format:
Artist's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Work: Subtitle if Any." Year, Location of Work.
For example:
Matisse, Henri. "Femme au chapeau" (Woman with a Hat). 1905, Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
Note that if the artist is unknown, you can begin with the title of the painting. Additionally, you can include the medium of the work as an optional element at the end of the citation.
For untitled artworks, provide a generic description without italicizing or capitalizing each word, for example:
Westwood, Vivian. Lime green, faux crocodile platform shoes.
If you viewed the artwork on the museum's website, you can include the website's publisher and URL at the end of the citation, omitting any publisher information if it is the same as the website name.
It is important to cite the source of the painting accurately and provide as much information as possible.
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Citing a painting reproduced in a book
When citing a painting reproduced in a book, you must reference both the painting and the book.
Firstly, cite the painting itself using the following format:
> Artist's Last Name, Artist's First Name. Title of Artwork OR description. Year of creation.
For example:
> Matisse, Henri. Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat). 1905.
If the painting has no title, you can provide a description instead. For example:
> Flintstone, F. et al. (sometime BC). Nature cave.
Secondly, cite the book in which the painting was reproduced. This involves providing the bibliographic information for the source, including page or reference numbers (plate, figure, etc.).
For example:
> Gardener's Art Through the Ages, 10th ed., by Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner, Harcourt Brace, p. 939.
Alternatively, you can cite the book as a whole by simply referring to it in your text and creating a works-cited-list entry. For example:
> One political cartoonist working during the 1919 Paris peace talks depicted Bolshevism as an aggressive, predatory hawk, and the peace treaty as an unknowing dove (MacMillan, fig. 6). MacMillan, Margaret. Paris 1919. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2001.
If you viewed the painting on the museum's website, treat the name of the website as the container and include the website's publisher and the URL at the end of the citation. Omit the publisher information if it is the same as the name of the website.
For example:
> Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid. Gardener's Art Through the Ages, 10th ed., by Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner, Harcourt Brace, p. 939, www.museodelprado.es/collection/art-work/the-family-of-charles-iv.
Note that if you are citing a photograph or illustration of a painting, you should credit the photographer or illustrator.
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Citing a painting without reproducing it
When citing a painting without reproducing it, you should include the artist's name, the title of the painting, the year it was created, and the museum or gallery where it is located, including the city. Here is an example:
Henri Matisse. Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat). 1905, Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
If the artist is unknown, begin the citation with the title of the painting. You can omit the city if it is part of the museum or gallery's name. Additionally, you can include the format of the artwork (e.g., oil on canvas) at the end of the citation, although this is optional.
For a painting reproduced in a book, you would also include the bibliographic information for the source, such as the author, title of the book, publisher, and page number:
Henri Matisse. Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat). 1905, reproduced in Art Book by A. Author, Art Publisher, 2023, p. 56.
If you viewed the painting on a museum's website, treat the website as a container and include the website's publisher and URL at the end of the citation:
Henri Matisse. Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat). 1905, Museum of Modern Art, New York City, moma.org.
Note that the date after the location is the date of the painting's creation, not the date of publication on the website. The date of access is now optional in MLA format, but if no publication date is provided, it is recommended to include the date you accessed the site.
For a painting reproduced on a website, you can omit "http://" from the URL. If the website title and publisher are the same, you can leave out the publisher information. Include the date of access at the end of the entry:
Henri Matisse. Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat). 1905, reproduced on artsite.com, accessed 1 January 2023.
In some cases, such as with very old paintings, you may not have all the information required for a standard citation. In these cases, include as much information as possible to identify the painting and its location. For example, when citing a cave painting, you might include the name or description of the painting, the cave network, and the location of the cave:
Horse painting, cave network A, Dupont Cave System, Nix, France.
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Citing a painting with an unknown artist
When citing a painting with an unknown artist, the general format to follow is:
If the artwork is untitled, a generic description should be provided. The title should not be italicized or have each word capitalized. For example:
Lime green, faux crocodile platform shoes. 1993, Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto.
If the artwork is viewed online, the format is as follows:
For example:
Lime green, faux crocodile platform shoes. 1993, Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, https://examplewebsite.com.
If the painting is viewed in person, the format is the same as online but replaces the name of the website with the name of the gallery or museum, followed by a comma and the city where the museum is located.
It is important to note that the format at the end of the entry, such as "Oil on canvas" or "Marble sculpture," is optional. Additionally, if the city is part of the museum or collection name, it can be omitted.
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Frequently asked questions
Artist Surname, First Name. Title of the painting. Year of creation, Name of the Museum or Gallery, City of the museum or gallery. For example: Matisse, Henri. Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat). 1905, Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
Follow the format for citing a painting viewed in a museum, but replace the name of the museum with the name of the website and its URL. For example: Leutze, Emmanuel. Washington Crossing the Delaware. 1851, https://www.metmuseum.org.
If you include the image in your paper, you can either include a complete MLA-style citation in the caption or include partial information, such as the artist's name and title of the work, along with a full citation in your Works Cited list.
Artist's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work: Subtitle if Any. Year, Location of Work. For example: Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Madrid.
