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Chicago Citation Guide (17th Edition): Images, Artwork, and Maps

General Guidelines for Citing Artwork

 Artwork is a general term used to describe visual art that is in a physical form. This includes paintings, sculptures, architecture, mosaics, ceramics, and more.

When citing artwork, citations must include the following information:

  • name of the artist
  • title of the artwork
  • year it was created (preceeded by "ca." [circa] if this date is approximate)
  • where it is located.

If you have other relevant information about the artwork such as size or medium, include that as well. 

Captions for Images Inserted in Your Paper

If you insert an image into your paper, put the citation information in a caption under the image instead of in a footnote. If you just refer to the image, put the citation information in a footnote. 

There is no set format for captions. Below is a recommended approach to creating captions.

How to create a caption:

  • Place the caption directly below your image
  • Start the caption with a figure number (e.g. Figure 1.)
  • If appropriate, begin the caption with a brief description of the figure. This is usually when the item does not have a formal title, or if you would like to provide further explanation of the content of the figure.
  • Write a citation for the image using the same format you would in a footnote
  • Single space the caption, no indent
  • Leave at least one blank line between your caption and the text below it

See this help sheet from the Chicago Manual of Style Website to see an example of an image placed in a paper.

Examples with description:

Figure 1. Anti-capitalism protest near St. Paul's Cathedral. Photograph taken by Julian Walker, Protest, October 21, 2011, Flickr. Accessed May 27, 2021, https://www.flickr.com/photos/29093311@N03/6268956289.

Worker Shabti of Nany, Faience

Figure 2. This art object was excavated in the tomb of Queen Meritamun in Egypt. Worker Shabti of Nany, ca. 1050 B.C., Faience, 8.6 x 3.2 x 2.1 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed May 29, 2021, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/625909.

Examples without description:

Girl with Cherries, Attributed to Marco d'Oggiono (Italian, Milan ca. 1467–1524 Milan), Oil on wood

Figure 3. Marco d'Oggiono, Girl with Cherries, ca. 1491-95, oil on wood, 48.9 x 37.5 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed May 29, 2021, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437332.

Figure 4. Gerhard Mercator, Peregrinatio Israelitaru in deserto, "Europeana," 1608, accessed May 29, 2021, https://www.europeana.eu/en/item/318/marc_nli_002368761.

Image of Artwork from a Book

Footnote:

1. Creator's First Name Last Name, Title of Artwork, Date of Creation, Other relevant information such as size or medium [if known], Location of Artwork, in Title of Book: Subtitle if Any, Edition if given and is not first edition, by Textbook Author's First Name Last Name (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number.

Bibliography Entry:

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork, Date of Creation, Other relevant information such as size or medium [if relevant], Location of Artwork. In Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Edition if given and is not first edition, by Textbook Author's First Name Last Name, Page Range of Chapter or Part. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.

 If the book has an editor instead of an author, use the editor's name and replace "by" with "edited by".

Footnote Example

1. Leonardo Da Vinci, Last Supper, 1498, Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan, in Great Paintings of the Western World, by Alison Gallup, Gerhard Gruitrooy, and Elizabeth M. Weisberg (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1998), 223. 

Shortened Footnote Example

2. Da Vinci, Last Supper, 223.

Bibliography Entry Example

Da Vinci, Leonardo. Last Supper, 1498, Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan. In Great Paintings of the Western World, by Alison Gallup, Gerhard Gruitrooy, and Elizabeth M. Weisberg, 223. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1998.

Image of Artwork from an Online Source

Footnote:

1. Creator's First Name Last Name, Title of Artwork, Date of Creation, Other relevant information such as size or medium [if known], Location of Artwork, accessed Access Date, URL.

Bibliography Entry:

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork, Date of Creation, Other relevant information such as size or medium [if known], Location of Artwork. Accessed Access Date. URL.

Footnote Example

1. Leonardo Da Vinci, Last Supper, 1498, Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan, accessed May 15, 2021, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/renaissance-art-europe-ap/a/leonardo-last-supper.

Shortened Footnote Example

2. Da Vinci, Last Supper

Bibliography Entry Example

Da Vinci, Leonardo. Last Supper, 1498, Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan. Accessed May 15, 2021. www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/renaissance-art-europe-ap/a/leonardo-last-supper.

Image of Artwork from a Museum or Gallery Website

Footnote:

1. Creator's First Name Last Name, Title of Artwork, Date of Creation, Other relevant information such as size or medium [if known], Name of Museum or Gallery Where Artwork is Located, accessed Access Date, URL.

Bibliography Entry:

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork, Date of Creation, Other relevant information such as size or medium [if known], Name of Museum or Gallery Where Artwork is Located. Accessed Access Date. URL.

Footnote Example

1. Filippo Lippi, Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement, ca. 1440, tempera on wood, 64.1 x 41.9 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed May 21, 2021, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436896?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=Fra+Filippo+Lippi&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=1.

Shortened Footnote Example

2. Lippi, Portrait of Woman.

Bibliography Entry Example

Filippo Lippi, Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement, ca. 1440, tempera on wood, 64.1 x 41.9 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accessed May 21, 2021. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436896?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=Fra+Filippo+Lippi&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=1.

Image from a Specialized Database or Online Image Library

Footnote:

1. Creator's First Name Last Name, Title of Image, Date of Creation, Other relevant information such as size or medium [if known], Name of Specialized Database or Online Image Library, accessed Access Date, URL.

Bibliography Entry:

Creator'sLast Name, First Name. Title of Image,  Date of Creation, Other relevant information such as size or medium [if known], Name of Specialized Database or Online Image Library. Accessed Access Date. URL.

Footnote Example

1. Elizabeth Montizambert, Marjorie Howard Futcher Standing with Dog, 1900, black and white photograph, 9.4 x 11.6 cm, The Marjorie Howard Futcher Photo Collection, McGill University, accessed May 21, 2021,  https://digital.library.mcgill.ca/futcher/large/FUT1_002-001_P.jpg.

Shortened Footnote Example

2. Montizambert, Marjorie Howard Futcher.

Bibliography Entry Example

Montizambert, Elizabeth. Marjorie Howard Futcher Standing with Dog, 1900, black and white photograph, 9.4 x 11.6 cm, The Marjorie Howard Futcher Photo Collection, McGill University. Accessed May 21, 2021.  https://digital.library.mcgill.ca/futcher/large/FUT1_002-001_P.jpg.

Image from an Image Sharing Site (e.g. Flickr)

Footnote:

1. Creator's First Name Last Name, Title of Image, Date of Creation, Name of Image Sharing Site, accessed Access Date, URL.

Bibliography Entry:

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Image, Date of Creation, Name of Image Sharing Site. Accessed Access Date. URL.

Footnote Example

1. Julian Walker, Protest, October 21, 2011, Flickr. Accessed May 27, 2021, https://www.flickr.com/photos/29093311@N03/6268956289.

Shortened Footnote Example

2. Jezequel, France.

Bibliography Entry Example

Julian Walker. Protest, October 21, 2011, Flickr. Accessed May 27, 2021. https://www.flickr.com/photos/29093311@N03/6268956289.

Map from a Book or Atlas

Footnote:

1. Map Author's First Name Last Name, Title of Map, Scale [if given], in Title of Book: Subtitle if Any, Edition if given and is not first edition, by Book Author's First Name Last Name (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number.

Bibliography Entry:

Map Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Map. Scale [if given]. In Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Edition if given and is not first edition, by Book Author's First Name Last Name, Page Range of Chapter or Part. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.

Maps may have corporate rather than individual authors (such as Centre for Topographic Mapping). In this case, you do not invert the name in the bibliography entry.

Footnote Example

1. Collins Geo,  Access to Water, Scale ca. 1:100,000,000, in Atlas of Global Development, 3rd edition, by The World Bank (Glasgow: HarperCollins, 2011), 110.

Shortened Footnote Example

2. Collins Geo, Access to Water, 111.

Bibliography Entry Example

Collins Geo.  Access to Water. Scale ca. 1:100,000,000. In Atlas of Global Development. 3rd edition, by The World Bank, 110-111. Glasgow: HarperCollins, 2011.

Map from a Journal Article

Footnote:

1. Map Author's First Name Last Name, Title of Map, Scale [if given], in "Title of Article," by Author's First Name Last Name, Name of Journal Volume Number, no. Issue Number (Date of Publication): Page Number of Exact Citation, https://doi.org/DOI Number or Name of Database.

Bibliography Entry:

Map Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Map. Scale [if given]. In "Title of Article," by Author's First Name Last Name. Name of Journal Volume Number, no. Issue Number (Date of Publication): First Page Number of Article-Last Page Number of Article. https://doi.org/DOI Number or Name of Database.

Footnote Example

1. Hugh Clout, Figure 2: France: Types of Countryside, in "Rural France in the New Millennium: Change and Challenge," by Hugh Clout, Geography 91, no. 3 (2006): 207, https://doi.org/10.1080/00167487.2006.12094168.

Shortened Footnote Example

2. Clout, Figure 2, 207.

Bibliography Entry Example

Clout, Hugh. Figure 2: France: Types of Countryside. in "Rural France in the New Millennium: Change and Challenge," by Hugh Clout. Geography 91, no. 3 (2006): 205-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/00167487.2006.12094168.

Static (Non-interactive) Map from a Website

Footnote:

1. Map Author's First Name Last Name, Title of Map, Scale [if given], "Title of Website," Publication Date, accessed Access Date, URL. 

Bibliography Entry:

Map Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Map. Scale [if given]. "Title of Website." Publication Date. Accessed Access Date. URL.

Any map presented as a digital image can be cited using this format, including historical maps.

Footnote Example

1. Lindgren Brothers, A Hysterical Map Of The Yellowstone Park And The Jackson Hole Country, "David Rumsey Map Collection," 1611, accessed May 25, 2021, https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~263537~5524268.

Shortened Footnote Example

2. Lindgren Brothers, Hysterical Map.

Bibliography Entry Example

Lindgren Brothers. A Hysterical Map Of The Yellowstone Park And The Jackson Hole Country. "David Rumsey Map Collection." 1611. Accessed May 25, 2021. https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~263537~5524268.

Images Generated Using DALL-E

If you insert an image generated by DALL-E into your assignment, include a caption for it directly below the image, using the following formatting:

Fig. Number. “Full text of prompt,” image generated by OpenAI’s DALL-E version number, Month Day, Year.

Example:

An AI-generated Impressionist painting-style image of a basket of six kittens. Three of the kittens are white with ginger heads; two are gray; and one is white and ginger with a black head.

Fig. 1. “Create an Impressionist-style image of a basket of five kittens,” image generated by OpenAI’s DALL-E 3, September 19, 2024.

Bibliography Entry:

The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, does not recommend including a bibliography entry for images generated using DALL-E, unless you are able to include a publicly available URL for the image. If you do include a bibliography entry, use the following formatting:

Bibliography Entry Example

DALL-E. Response to “Full text of prompt.” OpenAI. Month Day, Year. Publicly available URL.

Example: DALL-E. Response to “Create an Impressionist-style image of a basket of five kittens.” OpenAI. September 19, 2024.

Note: We were unable to generate a publicly available URL for the image above, which is why there is no URL in this example citation.