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How to Plot Multiple Rectangles in Matplotlib

Plot multiple rectangles in Matplotlib by creating a Rectangle patch for each shape and adding them to the same Axes.
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Create a Rectangle patch for each shape and add every patch to the same Matplotlib Axes with ax.add_patch(). This approach makes it easy to position and style rectangles independently.

Plot several rectangles on one Axes

Each rectangle is defined by an anchor coordinate (x, y), a width, and a height. The following example gives each patch its own fill color while sharing an outline and transparency:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from matplotlib.patches import Rectangle

fig, ax = plt.subplots()

rectangles = [
    (0, 0, 2, 1, "tab:blue"),
    (1, 1, 1.5, 2, "tab:orange"),
    (3, 0.5, 1, 1.5, "tab:green"),
]

for x, y, width, height, color in rectangles:
    rect = Rectangle(
        (x, y), width, height,
        facecolor=color,
        edgecolor="black",
        alpha=0.6,
    )
    ax.add_patch(rect)

ax.set_xlim(-0.5, 4.5)
ax.set_ylim(-0.5, 3.5)
ax.set_aspect("equal")
plt.show()

ax.add_patch(rect) attaches the patch to the Axes and supplies its default Axes transform. Adding patches also updates the Axes data-limit structures used for autoscaling. Set xlim and ylim explicitly when you want a fixed view rather than relying on autoscaling. See the Matplotlib Artist tutorial.

Understand rectangle coordinates

Rectangle((x, y), width, height) creates a patch whose extent reaches from x to x + width and from y to y + height. The anchor is not always the bottom-left corner: axis direction and negative width or height can change which corner it represents. Check the Rectangle API when using reversed axes or negative dimensions.

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Style each patch

Pass properties as keyword arguments to the constructor. Common options include facecolor and edgecolor for fill and outline, alpha for transparency, linewidth and linestyle for the border, and hatch for a pattern. Set fill=False for outline-only rectangles.

for x, y, width, height in boxes:
    ax.add_patch(
        Rectangle((x, y), width, height, fill=False, linewidth=2)
    )

Rectangles can also be rotated with angle. The rotation_point option specifies the pivot; its default is 'xy'. If overlapping outlines need a particular front-to-back order, set zorder on the patches. The available patch properties are documented in the Patch API.

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Choose between patches and collections

Separate Rectangle patches are a natural fit when there are a few shapes, when individual styling matters, or when shapes need their own rotation. For many patches with shared appearance, consider PatchCollection; its API supports one face color or a sequence of colors. Confirm that its styling options meet your per-element requirements before switching. The collections API describes collection behavior.

If the shapes are arbitrary polygons rather than rectangles, ax.fill accepts multiple groups of x- and y-coordinates. For repeated histogram-like shapes, Matplotlib also documents a collection-based approach in a specific histogram rectangles and PolyCollections example. That example is tied to its geometry; it is not evidence that a collection will be faster for every workload.

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  • Graph ruling is ideal for plotting graphs, drawing curves and more. Notebook is 3-hole punched to store in your favorite binder.
  • Covers are coated for durability and have writable label on front cover. Available in Green.
  • Assembled in U.S.A. with U.S. and foreign parts

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