AHIS 3959: Art History Senior Research Seminar

Citation Basics

Most professors of art history require that you use of the Chicago citation style to create bibliographies and footnotes. There is also a variant of Chicago known as the Turabian citation style that is used as well. Because citations direct your reader back to the work of scholarship you are using in your research, they will differ slightly depending on the type of research material you are working with. For example, an article in a book will include information about the publisher of the book, while an article in a journal will include the name of the journal and its volume and issue number. It is best to include as much information about the resources you are working with as possible so anyone who wishes to look at those resources will be able to find them.
 

Online Citation Style Guides

Making Image Captions

Image captions should include both the location of the work of art itself, as well as the location of where you found the image. Below is an example of an image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection and how you would cite it depending on where you found the image

Elements of a Caption

Title: Columbus Monument

Artist: Gaetano Russo

Date: 1892

Medium: Carrara marble, granite, and bronze

Location of work: Columbus Circle, New York City

Where image was found: NYCParks.gov 
 

URL (if applicable): https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/299

Caption (artwork viewed in person):

Fig. 1. Gaetano Russo, Columbus Monument, 1892. Carrara marble, granite, and bronze. New York, Columbus Circle.

Caption (online): 

Fig. 1. Gaetano Russo, Columbus Monument, 1892. Carrara marble, granite, and bronze. NYCParks.org. https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/299. 

Caption (in print):

Fig. 1. Gaetano Russo, Columbus Monument, 1892. Carrara marble, granite, and bronze. In Title of Book, by AuthorFirst AuthorLast. City: Publisher, Date.