Lena Rivera
Referencing paintings in an academic essay is a vital part of avoiding plagiarism and providing context for your work. While it is not a common citation, knowing how to cite a painting is a useful skill, especially if you are studying art history or a related field. The three most popular referencing styles are APA, MLA, and Chicago, and each has its own specific format for citing paintings.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist's name | First name followed by last name, or last name followed by first name |
| Title of painting | In italics |
| Year of creation | In parentheses, or followed by a period |
| Description of materials | In sentence case, followed by a period |
| Dimensions | Metric or imperial measurements |
| Museum or gallery | Name of the institution, followed by the city |
| URL | Include https:// |
What You'll Learn
Artist's name and title
When mentioning a painting in an academic essay, it is important to cite the artist's name and the title of the painting correctly to avoid plagiarism. Here are some detailed guidelines on how to do this in your essay and bibliography, following the three most common citation styles: MLA, APA, and Chicago.
MLA Style
When mentioning the painting in the body of your essay, provide the artist's full name followed by the title of the work in italics. For example: "In Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night, the swirling colors and light convey a message of hope."
For your works-cited entry, list the artist's surname first, followed by their full name, the title of the painting in italics, the year it was painted, and the museum or collection where it is located, including the city if it is not included in the museum's name. Here is an example:
> Gogh, Vincent van. The Starry Night. 1889. Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
If you viewed the painting on a museum's website, omit the name and location of the museum and include the website name and URL instead:
> Gogh, Vincent van. The Starry Night. 1889. www.museumofmodernart.org/thestarrynight.
APA Style
In APA style, you would typically cite the artist's last name followed by their initials in the body of your essay, along with the year of creation in parentheses. For example: "Van Gogh, V. (1889). The Starry Night conveys a message of hope through its swirling colors."
For your reference list, APA requires the following information: artist's last name and initials, year of creation, title of the painting in sentence case, description of materials, dimensions, museum name, city, and URL. Here is an example:
> Van Gogh, V. (1889). The Starry Night. Oil on canvas. 90 x 70 cm. Museum of Modern Art, New York City. https://www.moma.com
Chicago Style
Chicago style is the most complex of the three and requires footnotes in the text and a bibliography at the end. In the text, you can follow a similar format to MLA style, mentioning the artist's full name and the title of the work in italics. For example: "Vincent van Gogh's famous painting, The Starry Night, offers a message of hope."
In your bibliography, list the artist's last name, followed by their full name, the title of the work in italics, the year of creation, and the museum or collection information, including the city. Here is an example:
> Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889. Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
If you are citing a digital image or a print reproduction, include the name and URL of the website, along with the access date:
> Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889. https://www.moma.com (accessed January 1, 2024).
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Year, materials, dimensions
When mentioning a painting in an essay using the notes-bibliography style, it is important to include specific information about the artwork to provide proper attribution and context for your readers. Here are some detailed guidelines on how to cite the year, materials, and dimensions of a painting in your essay:
Year
Begin by stating the year the painting was created, followed by a period. This is essential information that anchors the artwork in time and helps readers understand its historical context. If the exact year is unknown, you can use "n.d." to indicate that the date is not available. For example:
"Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800."
Materials
After providing the year, include a description of the materials used to create the painting. Use sentence case, capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns. Place a period after this description. For instance:
"Oil on canvas."
"Watercolour and gouache on paper."
If the information about materials is not relevant to your essay or is unavailable, you may omit this section. There is no need to explicitly mention that the information is unknown.
Dimensions
Following the materials description, provide the dimensions of the painting. Use standard abbreviations for units of measurement (e.g., "in." for inches, "cm" for centimetres) and place a period after the dimensions unless the abbreviation already includes one. For example:
"29 in. x 36.25 in."
"100 cm x 75 cm."
Like the materials section, if you do not have access to the painting's dimensions, you can simply leave this information out.
Remember to keep your measurements consistent throughout your essay. Choose either imperial or metric measurements and stick with that system for all your citations.
By following these guidelines, you can effectively cite the year, materials, and dimensions of a painting in your essay using the notes-bibliography style.
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Museum, gallery, URL
Citing a painting in an essay using the notes-bibliography style typically requires more information than citing a book. The general format for an MLA citation is as follows:
> Artist’s Last Name, Artist’s First Name. Title of Artwork OR description. Year of creation, Museum, Gallery, City. Name of Website, URL.
For example:
> Leutze, Emmanuel. Washington Crossing the Delaware. 1851, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11417.
Note that the URL should include "https://www." 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. You can omit publisher information if it is the same as the name of the website.
Also, note that the date of access is now optional in MLA. However, if no publication date is included, it is recommended to include the date you last accessed the site.
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Citing print reproductions
Citing a print reproduction of a painting in an essay requires a specific format, and there are several styles you can use, including APA, MLA, and Chicago. Here is a guide to each of these three styles:
APA Style
To cite a painting in APA style, you need to include some basic information, such as the name of the artist, the title of the painting, the name and place of the museum or gallery, and the URL if you accessed the painting online. Here is the template for an in-text citation:
Artist Surname, F. M. (Year of Publication). Title of the painting. Name of the museum or gallery, place of the museum or gallery.
MLA Style
For an MLA citation, you need to include the artist's full name, the title of the work in italics, the year of creation, the museum or gallery name, and the location. Here is the template for an in-text citation:
Artist's Last Name, Artist's First Name. Title of Artwork. Year of creation, Museum, City.
If you are citing a print reproduction of a painting, you should include information about the book or website where the reproduction appears. Treat the book or website as a "container" and include the bibliographic information for the source, including page or reference numbers. Here is an 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.
Chicago Style
Chicago style is the most complex of the three, requiring footnotes in the text and a bibliography at the end. For Chicago-style citations, you should list the artist's last name, followed by a comma, then their first name, and a period. If the artist is unknown, leave this part out, and if the artist is listed as "anonymous," use that word instead. Italicize the title of the artwork and add a period afterward. If the artwork has no official title, write "untitled" in plain text. Here is an example:
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid.
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APA, MLA, Chicago styles
When mentioning a painting in an essay, you may need to cite it in a specific style, depending on the requirements of your institution. Here is how you can cite a painting in APA, MLA, and Chicago styles:
APA Style
The APA (American Psychological Association) style is one of the most popular referencing styles in the social sciences. It follows the author-date in-text citation format. When citing a painting, you typically need to include the artist's name, the title of the artwork, the year of creation, and the source (e.g., the name of the museum or website where the painting is located, along with the URL, if applicable). Here is an example of an APA citation for a painting:
Leutze, E. (1975). Toddlers crossing railroads [Oil on canvas]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
MLA Style
MLA stands for Modern Language Association and is commonly used in the humanities and liberal arts. To cite a painting in MLA style, you should provide the artist's full name followed by the title of the work in italics. Here is an example of an in-text citation:
"In Francisco Goya's The Family of Charles IV, he creates a contrast of light and dark."
For the works cited entry, you would include the artist's name, the title of the painting in italics, the year of creation, the museum or website where the painting is located, and the URL, if applicable. Here is an example:
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/
If you viewed the painting in person at a museum, you would include the museum name and location instead of the website information.
Chicago Style
The Chicago style is known for being the most complex of the three. It requires footnotes in the text when citing a source and a bibliography at the end of the document. When citing a painting in Chicago style, you should include the artist's last name followed by their first name, the title of the artwork in italics, the date of creation, and information about the medium and location of the work. Here is an example:
Salvador Dalí, *The Persistence of Memory*, 1931, oil on canvas, 9½ x 13 in. (24.1 x 33 cm), Museum of Modern Art, New York, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018.
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Oil on canvas. Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.
Remember to include as much relevant information as possible about the artwork, such as its dimensions and the materials used. Always check the latest guidelines for each citation style to ensure your references are accurate and up-to-date.
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Frequently asked questions
To cite a painting in an MLA format, you need to include the artist's full name, followed by the title of the work in italics. For example: "Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid". If you viewed the painting on a museum website, omit the name and location of the museum and use the website name and URL instead.
The APA format follows the author-date in-text citation style. To cite a painting, you need to include the name of the artist, title, name of the museum, place, and URL. An example would be: "Henri Matisse. Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat). 1905. Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY, United States. https://www.moma.org".
The Chicago format requires footnotes in the text when citing a painting and a bibliography at the end of the document listing all works. Begin with the artist's last name, followed by their first name, the title of the painting in italics, the year of creation, and the institution where it is located. For example: "Leutze, Washington. Toddlers crossing railroads. 1975. Metropolitan Institute of Art, New York, NY".
When citing a painting in an essay, it is important to include the basic information such as the artist's name, the title of the painting (in italics), the year it was created, and the institution where the painting is located. If you viewed the painting online, include the URL instead of the physical location.
