Citing Art: Mla In-Text Painting References

how to in text cite a painting mla format

When citing a painting in MLA format, it is important to structure your citation correctly. The basic format is as follows: Artist's Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork: Subtitle if Any. Year, Location of Work. This format ensures that the key details of the painting are included in the citation, allowing others to easily identify and locate the artwork. This in-text citation is a concise reference that directs readers to the full citation in your works cited list, where more detailed information about the source of the painting can be found.

Characteristics Values
Artist Artist's Last Name, Artist's First Name
Title of Artwork Title in Italics
Date of Artwork Year of Creation
Location Museum, City
URL Include https://

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Artist's name and title of the painting

To cite a painting in MLA format, the artist's name and the title of the painting are both key components. Here is a detailed guide on how to structure and format this information:

Artist's Name:

The artist's name should be listed with their last name first, followed by a comma, and then their first name. Any middle names or initials should be included after the first name. For example: "Goya, Francisco". It is important to note that the artist is considered the "author" of the painting in the Works Cited Entry.

The title of the painting should be included after the artist's name. If the painting does not have a title, a brief description of the artwork can be provided instead. The title should be italicized. For example: "The Family of Charles IV".

Combining Artist's Name and Title:

When mentioning the artist and artwork in the text of your paper, MLA style does not require parenthetical in-text citations. Instead, simply provide the artist's name followed by the title of the work in italics. For example: "Francisco Goya's The Family of Charles IV".

Additional Information:

Depending on the specific guidelines or requirements, you may also need to include other details such as the date of creation, the location of the artwork (name of the museum or gallery, and city), the medium or materials used, and the dimensions of the artwork. This additional information can be included in your citation to provide a more comprehensive reference.

Remember to format your citation consistently and in accordance with the specific guidelines or style guide you are following. This guide provides a general overview of citing an artist's name and title of the painting in MLA format.

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Year of creation, museum and city

When citing a painting in MLA format, the year of creation, museum name, and city are all key components of the citation. Here are some examples of how to structure this information:

Example 1:

Artist's Last Name, Artist's First Name. Title of Artwork. Year of Creation, Museum Name, City.

For example: Leutze, Emmanuel. Washington Crossing the Delaware. 1851, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Example 2:

Artist's Last Name, First Name. Title of Painting. Year. Museum, City.

For example: Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889. Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Example 3:

Artist. Title of Artwork. Year, Museum, City.

For example: Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Example 4:

Artist's Last Name, Artist's First Name. Title (in italics). Year, Museum, City.

For example: Matisse, Henri. *Femme au chapeau* (Woman with a Hat). 1905, Museum of Modern Art, New York City.

Note that if the city is already part of the museum's name, you do not need to repeat it. For instance, "The Louvre, Paris" would simply be "The Louvre" because the city, Paris, is already included in the museum's name.

Additionally, if you viewed the painting on the museum's website, the format changes slightly. You would omit the museum and its location, replacing them with the website name and URL:

Artist's Last Name, First Name. Title (in italics). Year. Website Name, URL.

For example: Goya, Francisco. *The Family of Charles IV*. 1800. Museo del Prado, www.museodelprado.es/collection/art-work/the-family-of-charles-iv.

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URL and access date

When citing a painting in MLA format, the URL and access date are important components of the citation. Here are some detailed guidelines on how to include them:

URL and Web Address

If you viewed the painting on a museum's website, include the URL of the specific webpage featuring the painting. Omit "http://" or "https://" from the URL, as MLA only requires the "www." address. For example:

> www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/

If the artwork is hosted on a platform that provides a permalink, use that instead of the URL. A permalink is a shortened, stable version of a URL and can usually be found by looking for a "share" or "cite this" button.

Access Date

The access date refers to the date you viewed the painting online. Include the date in the following format: "Accessed Month Day, Year." For example:

> Accessed 22 May 2006.

The access date is placed at the end of the citation.

Complete Citation Example

> Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Museo Nacional del Prado, www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74. Accessed 22 May 2006.

Remember to adapt the format slightly if you viewed the painting in person at a museum or gallery, omitting the URL and access date and replacing them with the name of the gallery or museum and its location.

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Material or medium

When citing a painting in MLA format, it is important to include the medium and/or materials used, especially if they are integral to your reference. This information should be included at the end of your citation.

For example, if you are citing a painting that you viewed in person at a museum, your citation should follow this format:

> Artist Last Name, First Name. Title of Painting. Year. Medium/Materials. Dimensions. Museum, City.

An example of this format in practice would be:

> Holbein, Hans. The Ambassadors. 1533. Oil on oak. The National Gallery, London.

If you viewed the painting online via the museum's website, you would omit the name and location of the museum and instead include the website name and URL:

> Artist Last Name, First Name. Title of Painting. Year. Medium/Materials. Dimensions. Website Name, URL.

An example of this format could be:

> Van Gogh, Vincent. Night Café. 1889. Oil on canvas. Yale University Gallery. https://yale.edu/artgallery

However, if you are citing a print reproduction of a painting that you viewed in a book or other publication, you would omit the medium and location information and instead provide a citation for the source in which the painting appears:

> Artist Last Name, First Name. Title of Painting. Year. In Author Surname, Book Title, Publisher, Year, Page Number.

For example:

> Gogh, Vincent van. The Starry Night. 1889. In Bailey, Martin. Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum. White Lion Publishing, 2018, p. 42.

It is important to note that the medium and materials are not always required for MLA citations. If this information is not relevant to your reference, you can simply omit it from your citation.

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When citing a painting in MLA format, it is important to include the name of the gallery or museum where the artwork is housed, followed by the location of the institution. This information should be included in both your in-text citation and reference list entry. Here are some examples of how to format your citation, depending on the specifics of your source:

Gallery or Museum Name and Location:

If the location of the institution is not included in its name, be sure to include it after the name of the gallery or museum. For example:

> Van Gogh, Vincent. Night Café. 1889, Yale University Gallery, New Haven.

In this example, "Yale University Gallery" is the name of the institution, and "New Haven" is the location that needs to be added explicitly.

Gallery or Museum Name Includes Location:

If the location is already included in the name of the institution, you do not need to repeat it. For instance:

> Hans Holbein, The Ambassadors, 1533, oil on oak, The National Gallery, London.

Here, "London" is part of the gallery's name, so there is no need to include "London" again after the gallery name.

Gallery or Museum Name with City and Country:

When citing a gallery or museum located in a city that is not widely known or may be confused with other places, it is helpful to include the country as well. Here's an example:

> Thomas, A. H. (1921). Formes et couleurs: vingt planches en couleurs contenant soixante-sept motifs decoratifs [Painting]. The Met Museum, New York, NY, United States.

In this case, "New York" is a well-known city, but adding "NY" and "United States" helps to provide clear context for the reader.

Gallery or Museum Name Online:

If you viewed the artwork on the museum's website, treat the name of the website as you would the name of the gallery or museum, followed by the URL. Here's an example:

> Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid. https://museodelprado.es/en/collection/p/the-family-of-charles-iv

In this citation, "Museo del Prado" is the name of the museum, "Madrid" is the location, and the URL is provided at the end.

Frequently asked questions

To cite a painting viewed in person, you should list the artist's surname followed by their first name, the title of the artwork, the year it was created, the gallery name, and the location. For example: "Games, Abram. Our Jungle Fighters Want Socks- Please Knit Now. 1942, Imperial War Museum, London."

If you viewed the painting on a museum website, omit the name and location of the museum. Instead, include the name of the website and the URL. For example: "Goya, Francisco, The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/."

If the painting does not have a title, include a description of the image. For example: "Randolph Rogers, Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii. 1859, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City."

For your Works Cited entry, the artist is considered the "author" of the painting. Type their last name first, followed by a comma, then their first name, and a period. For example: "Goya, Francisco."

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