Lena Rivera
Citing a painting or artwork in MLA style depends on whether you viewed it online or in person. If you viewed the painting in person, you should include the artist's last name followed by their first name, the title of the artwork or a description, the year it was created, the name of the museum or gallery, and the city where the museum is located. If you viewed the painting online, the format is the same, but you should replace the name of the gallery with the title of the website and its URL. In-text citations are also necessary when quoting, referencing, or alluding to ideas from the source.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist's Last Name | Artist's First Name |
| Title of Work | Subtitle (if any) |
| Year of Creation | Name of the Museum or Gallery |
| City of the Museum or Gallery | Name of the Website |
| Publisher or Sponsoring Organization | Date of Publication or Last Modified Date |
| URL | Access Date |
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What You'll Learn
Artist name format
The artist's name forms a core part of the MLA citation for a painting. The artist's name should be formatted with their surname first, followed by a comma and then their first name. For example:
> Goya, Francisco.
This format is consistent with the general structure of the citation, which follows this template:
> Artist Surname, Artist Forename. Title. Year Published, Gallery Name, Location.
For example:
> Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid.
If the painting is viewed online, the citation should include the name of the website and its URL. The structure is as follows:
> Artist Surname, First Name. "Title of the digital image." Publication Date, Title of website, Web address.
For example:
> Warhol, Andy. Self-portrait. 1979. J. Paul Getty Museum, www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/106971/andy-warhol-self-portrait-american-1979/.
If the artist's name is unknown, the artist's name can be omitted from the citation.
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Title, date and location
When citing a painting in MLA format, the artist's surname should be listed first, followed by a comma and their first name. This should be followed by the title of the painting, which should be italicized. If there is no title, a description of the painting should be included. The year of creation should follow, along with a comma and the name of the museum or gallery where the painting is located, followed by a comma and the city where the museum or gallery is located. Here are some examples:
The title of the painting is usually italicized and should be capitalized. If the painting does not have a title, a brief description of the artwork should be provided in its place. Here is an example:
Matisse, Henri. *Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat)*. 1905, Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
In this example, "Femme au chapeau" is the title of the painting, and "Woman with a Hat" is the translation, which is included in parentheses for clarity.
Date
The year of creation should be included after the title. If the exact date is unknown, an approximate date can be used, such as "ca. 1905" or "circa 1905." If the artwork was created over multiple years, both years should be included, such as "1905-1906."
Location
The location of the painting includes the name of the museum or gallery where the artwork is housed, followed by a comma and the city where the museum or gallery is located. Here is an example:
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid.
If the painting was viewed on a museum's website, the name of the website should be included as the container, followed by the publisher and the URL at the end of the citation. Here is an example:
Warhol, Andy. Self-portrait. 1979. J. Paul Getty Museum, www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/106971/andy-warhol-self-portrait-american-1979/. Accessed 20 Jan. 2015.
It is important to note that the format for citing a painting may vary slightly depending on the specific guidelines of the MLA style being used (MLA 8th or 9th edition) and whether the painting was viewed in person or online.
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Museum or gallery
To cite a painting from a museum or gallery website in MLA style, you should follow this format:
For a painting viewed in person at a museum or gallery:
Artist’s Last Name, Artist’s First Name. Title of Artwork. Year of creation, Museum or Gallery, City.
For example:
Leutze, Emmanuel. Washington Crossing the Delaware. 1851, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Or:
Matisse, Henri. Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat). 1905, Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
For a painting viewed on a museum or gallery website:
Artist’s Last Name, Artist’s First Name. Title of Artwork. Year of creation. Museum or Gallery, City. Website Title, URL.
For example:
Bearden, Romare. The Train. 1975. Museum of Modern Art, New York. www.moma.org/collection/works/65232?locale=en
Or:
Duveneck, Frank. Portrait of Maggie Wilson. [n.d.]. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas. https://www.mfah.org/art/explore/artwork/portrait-of-maggie-wilson-46644
Note that the medium of the painting (e.g. oil on canvas, graphite on paper) can be included at the end of the citation if it is important to your discussion. The URL is also now considered an optional component of a citation, but it is still recommended to include it if the reader will not be able to locate the resource without it.
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Website details
When citing a painting found on a website in MLA style, the following format can be used:
Artist's Last Name, First Name. *Title of Work: Subtitle if Any*. Year, Location of Work. "Title of Webpage," by *Author's Last Name, First Name*. Title of Website, Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed [access date].
For example:
Matisse, Henri. *Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat).* 1905, Museum of Modern Art, New York City. "Art and Artists," by S. Johnson. *The Art Magazine*, Art Publications, 10/03/2022, https://artmagazine.com/matisse.html. Accessed 10 March 2022.
Note that the access date is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, it is recommended to include the date you last accessed the site.
If the painting does not have a title, include a description of the image. For example:
Scholten, J.A. *Kate O'Flaherty (Kate Chopin, at the Time of Her Marriage).* 1870, Missouri Historical Society. https://mohistory.org/collections/item/N11927. Accessed 23 Aug. 2018.
If you viewed the artwork 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. Omit 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. https://museodelprado.org/goya/family-charles-iv.html.
In-text citations should include both in-line citations and parenthetical citations, used when quoting or taking an idea, thought, or fact from another author or source.
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Bibliography and in-text citations
When citing a painting accessed via a website in MLA style, the following format can be used:
Artist Surname, Artist Forename. Title. Year Published, Gallery Name, Location, Name of the Website, URL.
For example:
Matisse, Henri. Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat). 1905, Museum of Modern Art, New York City, Museum of Modern Art Website, https://moma.org/matisse.
Alternatively, the following format can be used:
Artist's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work: Subtitle (if any). Year, Location of Work. "Title of Webpage," by Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Website, Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed [access date]
For example:
Matisse, Henri. Femme au chapeau: Woman with a Hat. 1905, New York City, MoMA Collection Online, by Stephanie Delau. MoMA, 2017, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79794. Accessed 20 July 2023.
Note that the date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, it is recommended to include the date you last accessed the site.
In-text citations should include both in-line citations and parenthetical citations, used when quoting or taking an idea, thought, or fact from another author or source. For example:
Matisse's painting _Femme au chapeau_ (1905) depicts a woman... (Matisse, Henri. "Femme au chapeau."...)
This in-text citation directly mentions the artist and title of the work, with the year of creation in brackets, followed by a parenthetical citation including the artist's surname, the title of the work, and additional information such as the year.
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Frequently asked questions
Artist's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Painting." Year, Museum/Gallery Name, City. Title of Website, Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL.
For example: Goya, Francisco. "The Family of Charles IV." 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid. Gardener's Art Through the Ages, by Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner, Harcourt Brace, www.museodelprado.es/art/collection/objects/xxxx/francisco-goya-family-of-charles-iv-1800/, Accessed 20 Jan. 2023.
If the painting does not have a title, simply provide a description of the artwork in place of the title.
The citation is made up of two parts:
Part 1: List the original artist's name, the assumed title of the work, and the date the work was created.
Part 2: Cite where you found the reproduction of the work, in this case, a website.
