How to cite a painting in text mla

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

To cite wall text, follow the MLA format template. Provide a description of the wall text as the title of the source. This may include the title of the artwork the wall text explains and the artist who created it. If the work was part of an exhibit, include the exhibit’s name as the title of the container, followed by the date (opening and closing), and the museum and city as the location:

For additional resources on citing museum works, see the lesson plan for “Real-Life versus Digital Sources: Documenting a Museum Visit.”

A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph:

An item that you see in person will have this information in the citation: 

  • Artist's name (last, first)
  • Title of the artwork in italics
  • Date of creation
  • Name of the institution that houses the artwork followed by the location of the institution - if the institutions location is not in its name.

How to cite a painting in text mla

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

Photographic Reproductions of Artwork:

These are images that you can find in a book. Begin the citation just like you would for the original artwork, but also cite the bibliographic information for the source in which the photograph appears, including page or reference numbers (plate, figure, etc.).

Book:

How to cite a painting in text mla

Van Gogh, Vincent. Night Café. 1889, Yale University Gallery, New Haven. Gardener's Art Through the Ages v. II, 13 ed., by Fred S. Kleiner, Wardsworth, 1994, p. 666.

Journal Article:

How to cite a painting in text mla

Cox, George C. "Walt Whitman, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right, wearing hat." 1887, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.  By Christian Winman, Atlantic, vol. 298, no. 5, Dec. 2006, p. 75.

Book with an Illustrator:

How to cite a painting in text mla

Reproduced with Permission to use from Pete the Cat, LLC 

Litwin, Eric. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. Illustrated by James Dean, HarperCollins, 2010.

Comics or Graphic Novels:

Feyman. By Jim Ottavani, illustrated by Leland Myrick, First Second, 2011.


"MLA Works Cited: Other Common Sources." Purdue Online Writing Lab, 23 Aug. 2018, https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_other_common_sources.html

The Modern Language Association (MLA) is a system for formatting academic papers and citing sources. It is important to understand general MLA style for formatting your writing. As a standard rule, MLA formatting guidelines require a 1-inch margin on all sides of the paper and a 12-point font, in a highly readable style, such as Times New Roman. You also want to make sure there is a clear contrast when the font is set to italic. Use only one space after a period and indent half a space for each new paragraph.

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1 Giving Credit

While students may enjoy on-demand access to relatively unlimited information, it is important to be clear about what content you generate, and is your own original idea, and what content actually belongs to someone else. It is very important for you to give credit to the sources you used for several reasons.

According to MIT Libraries, giving credit to your sources is important because it shows that you have actually done thorough research, and by doing this you are giving credit for the idea or content to its original author. Also, by citing works, you are making it clear that these are not your original ideas, therefore not plagiarizing the information. Lastly, citing your sources gives the reader information about the origins of the work, so they can find the original source if needed.

2 How to Cite Art

MLA is predominantly used in literature and humanities classes required for just about every major. It is important to understand the specific requirements for citing historical artwork in an academic paper. You may choose to include the exact image within the body of the text. If so, label the image as a numbered figure and give a brief caption (ex., Fig. 1. Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child, Wichita Art Museum.) It is important to note that if the caption under the image within the paper is a complete citation, it is not necessary to add the citation into a works cited list at the end of the paper.

To cite a piece of artwork, such as a photograph, painting or sculpture, apply the following MLA guidelines: Artist’s full name(last name first), complete title of the artwork in italics, date of creation, medium (i.e., oil painting, sculpture, photograph), name of institution that currently houses the piece and location of institution.

3 MLA Examples

An example of MLA citations would look like this:

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. Aristotle with a Bust of Homer. 1653, Oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Finally, the works cited list goes at the very end of the paper, after any final notes. You should start the list on a new page and follow the general MLA formatting guidelines for margins and font.

About the Author

Melanie Forstall has a doctorate in education and has worked in the field of education for over 20 years. She has been a teacher, grant writer, program director, and higher education instructor. She is a freelance writer specializing in education, and education related content. She writes for We Are Teachers, School Leaders Now, Classroom, Pocket Sense, local parenting magazines, and other professional academic outlets. Additionally, she has co-authored book chapters specializing in providing services for students with disabilities.

How do you cite a painting in

To cite an image/reproduction of a work of visual art from a print source, follow this format: Artist's Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork. Date Artwork Created, Name of Institution or Private Collection Housing Artwork, City Where it is Housed.

How do you caption a painting in MLA?

The caption should be placed below the illustration and include a citation to the source material. It also may be appropriate to add copyright information at the end of the citation. No additional citation is needed when the source is not cited within the text of the paper.

Do you italicize painting titles MLA?

Yes, you would italicize the title of the work of art in your citation just as you would a book title.

How do you cite in

MLA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the page number from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken, for example: (Smith 163). If the source does not use page numbers, do not include a number in the parenthetical citation: (Smith).