Guidelines for Citing Images
- An illustration number may be separated from the caption by a period or a space. Figure may be abbreviated or spelled out.
- Number the figures consecutively, beginning with Figure 1.
- Include artist's name, title of work (italicized), medium, measurements and the institution which houses the work.
- Include the source the image came from preceded by a statement which declares the source (for example 'From:' or 'In:')
- Be sure to include the URL and date accessed if your source is online.
- Be consistent with caption display choices throughout your paper.
Citing works of art can be difficult because you may not be able to find the same identifying elements as you would for a more traditional source. Depending on the scope of your project, you may need to refer to images in several different ways, including captions, notes, a list of illustrations, and in the bibliography. You may have to adapt examples and standards to fit materials that are not specifically included in the style guides, which is fine as long as you are clear and consistent throughout your paper.
Examples of Documenting Images
Image scanned from a book.
Figure 1. Pablo Picasso, Crucifixion, 1896. Oil on paper, 74 x 55 cm. Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain. From: Dillenberger, Jane, and John Handley. The Religious Art of Pablo Picasso. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2014. Figure 17.
Image downloaded from a museum website.
Figure 2. Pablo Picasso, Painter and Model, 1970. Black and colored crayons on brown-gray wove paper, discolored to tan, laid down on cream board, 220 x 280 mm. From: The Art Institute of Chicago, http://www.artic.edu/ (accessed September 7, 2017).
Image found online.
Figure 3. Pablo Picasso, Painter and his model, 1928. Oil on canvas, 163 x 129.8 cm. Wikiart, https://www.wikiart.org/en/pablo-picasso/painter-and-his-model-1928 (accessed September 7, 2017).
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