Art & Art History

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Citation Help

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Citing Sources in Chicago Style

Chicago Manual of Style book cover

Citing an Image

Identifying information is required for any image you use in a paper or presentation. Images are not generally cited in a bibliography or note in Chicago style, but if such an entry is needed, see The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, Section 14.235: Citing Paintings, Photographs, and Sculpture. The type of citation that is normally required is called a caption. A caption appears below the image and should contain as much of the following information as you are able to find.

  • Creator First Name Last Name
  • Title of work (in italics)
  • Date created
  • Medium (oil on canvas, photograph, poster, etc.)
  • Dimensions (in inches or centimeters)
  • Repository (institution that owns the orignal work) and city or country where located
  • Image source (Database, website, book, etc.)

*Use n.d. to indicate no date
*ca., short for circa, may be substituted for the exact date if it is not known

Example: Diego Velázquez. The Toilet of Venus. 1647-51. Oil on canvas, 122.5 x 177 cm. National Gallery, London. Artstor, http://www.artstor.org.

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