Chantal Joffe ('Self Portrait with Esme')
- Artist: Chantal Joffe
- Date: 2008
- Medium: oil on board
- Dimensions: 120 1/8 in. x 60 1/4 in. (3050 mm x 1530 mm) overall
- Portrays: Chantal Joffe
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
In this 2008 oil on board, Chantal Joffe stretches a canvas nearly three metres wide. You see two figures—mother and daughter Esme—side by side in unadorned flesh. The scale is larger than life-size, so every gesture feels monumental. The strokes are quick yet deliberate; each line seems to float before settling into skin and light. Joffe says the self‑portrait is a moment of reflection, and with her child she brings memory into present. Here the mother’s caesarean scar and Esme’s small hands mingle in shared nakedness.
See it in person
Chantal Joffe ('Self Portrait with Esme') is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
