An important part of using images in your academic work is attributing credit. Each image should include a caption, formatted according to MLA style guide rules.
Image citations can be confusing at times, but NoodleTools will walk you through it.
Keep in mind:
The citation of an original work of visual art differs from the citation of an image/reproduction from a secondary source, such as a book or a website.
You may not always be able to find each source detail mentioned in the format guidelines. Just do your best to provide as much information as possible in your citations.
The MLA provides guidelines on incorporating figures to illustrate your work
Purdue OWL MLA: Tables, Figures, and Examples
Image Captions
Captions appear below the image and typically begin with the abbreviation for Figure (Fig.), then followed by assigned Arabic numerals and a brief description. An entry in the works-cited list is not necessary if an image caption provides complete information about the source, and it is the only time the source is referenced in the text.
Example:
Monet, Claude. Flower Beds at Vétheuil. 1881. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
www.mfa.org/collections/object/flower-beds-at-v%C3%A9theuil-31803.
Accessed 31 May 2017.
A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph
Provide the artist's name, the title of the artwork in italics, the date of composition, and the medium of the piece. Finally, provide the name of the institution that houses the artwork followed by the location of the institution (if the location is not listed in the name of the institution, e.g. The Art Institute of Chicago).
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, oil on canvas, Museo del Prado,
Madrid.
For photographic reproductions of artwork (e.g. images of artwork in a book), treat the book or website as a container. Remember that for a second container, the title is listed first, before the contributors. Cite the bibliographic information as above followed by the information for the source in which the photograph appears, including page or reference numbers (plate, figure, etc.).
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.