3. MLA Glossary
• In-text (in-line) citation acknowledges your source in the main body
of your document.
– Example: (van Gogh)
• Caption brief explanation accompanying an illustration or artwork.
– Example: Fig. 3. Vincent V. Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889.
• Reference is the details of a particular in-text citation.
– Example: Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889. Wikipedia,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night. Accessed 2 Oct. 2019.
• Works Cited is the list of references arranged alphabetically.
4. Fig. 4. Katsushika Hokusai, Under the Wave, 1831.
All visuals (Artwork, maps,
diagrams, charts, videos,
podcasts, etc.) are labelled as
Figure or Fig.
5. ● When citing work found on the internet, you must include the artist and the details of the work, not simply the URL where you
found it. Include the date you accessed the page, along with the URL in your sources page, not necessarily in text, to keep it clean.
In-text citation: (da Vinci)
Work Cited: da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa (La Gioconda). 1503-17, Musee Du
Louvre, Paris. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa. 25 Oct. 2018.
Fig. 6. Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), 1503-17.
Author/title/date/place/url/date of access
Refer to the Figure and its corresponding numeral in-
text. Do not capitalize the word figure. This is typically
done in parentheses e.g. (see fig. 6)
6. ● When citing an Images that you personally visited: Artist / Title / Date / Medium/Source/ City
Fig. 7. Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), 1503-17.
In-text citation: (da Vinci)
Work Cited: da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa (La Gioconda). 1503. Oil on poplar panel. Musee
Du Louvre, Paris.
(MLA Handbook 49)
7. ● When citing work you have seen in an exhibition,
Fig. 8. Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), 1503-17.
● Exhibition’s name as the title of the container
● Exhibition’s opening and closing dates
● Place of exhibition city, as location
In-text citation: (da Vinci)
Work Cited: da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa (La Gioconda). 19-29 Sept. 2019, Zurich.
(MLA Style Center)
8. Fig. 1. Edger Degas, The Dance Class, 1874. Fig. 2. Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942.
Fig. 3. Paula Rego, The Dance, 1988.
9. Introduction: My comparative study looks into the similarities of use of colour, stroke and texture between painters of different
cultural and historical contexts. My grandfather Jean-François Brahin is a painter I look up to and I remember being in an
exhibition he did in Montpelier, France which had “place de la Contrescarpe Paris” (see fig. 2). I was inspired by the layout and
use of colours. The painting reminds me of Paris which I have a personal connection to. My grandfather was highly inspired by
Matisse and Van Gogh. So when I saw “Goldfish and Sculptures” (see fig. 1) by Henri Matisse and “The Starry Night” (see fig. 3)
by Vincent Van Gogh in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, I was astonished by mood and tone of the paintings so I had to
compare it with JF Brahin. These paintings (see Fig. 1-3) show details of similar lines and colour palette. These artists led me to
approach make a painting with a contemporary style and a similar palette.
“Goldfish and Sculptures”
Henri Matisse - 1912
“Place de la contrescarpe”
Jean François Brahin
“Le pesage A Deauville” Raoul
Dufy - 1930
“The Starry Night” Vincent
Van Gogh - 1889
Fig. 1.Henri Matisse, Goldfish and
Sculptures, 1912.
Fig. 2.Jean F. Brahin, Place de la Contrescarpe Paris. Fig. 3. Vincent V. Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889.
10. Works CitedText
Introduction: My comparative study looks into the
similarities of use of colour, stroke and texture between
painters of different cultural and historical contexts. My
grandfather Jean-François Brahin is a painter I look up
to and I remember being in an exhibition he did in
Montpelier, France which had “place de la Contrescarpe
Paris” (see fig. 2). I was inspired by the layout and use of
colours. The painting reminds me of Paris which I have a
personal connection to. My grandfather was highly
inspired by Matisse and Van Gogh. So when I saw
“Goldfish and Sculptures” (see fig. 1) by Henri Matisse
and “The Starry Night” (see fig. 3) by Vincent Van Gogh
in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, I was
astonished by mood and tone of the paintings so I had to
compare it with JF Brahin. These paintings (see Fig. 1-
3) show details of similar lines and colour palette. These
artists led me to approach make a painting with a
contemporary style and a similar palette.
Brahin, Jean-François. Place de la Contrescarpe Paris.
http://www.jf-brahin.com, www.jf-brahin.com/12-2-
paris.html. Accessed 2 Oct. 2019.
Matisse, Henri. Goldfish and Sculpture. 1912. The
Museum of Modern Art,
www.moma.org/collection/works/79117. Accessed 2
Oct. 2019.
Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889. Wikipedia,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night. Accessed 2
Oct. 2019.
13. Do it yourself…
1. Create an MLA paper from GoogleDoc
2. Export (& import)citationsfrom (to) NoodleTools
3. Copy & paste on Works Cited page (GoogleMLA doc.)
14. Works Cited
MLA Style Center. “How Do I Cite a Museum Exhibition?” The MLA Style Center, 24 July 2017, https://style.mla.org/citing-a-
museum-exhibition/.
MLA Style Center. “How Do I Cite a Museum Image That I Viewed in Person or Online?” The MLA Style Center, 29 Sept. 2016,
https://style.mla.org/citing-images-viewed-firsthand-or-online/.
Editor's Notes
I was inspired by the layout and use of colours. The painting reminded me of Paris which I have a personal connection to.