Souriez Rue Froide (Defiguration) - Asger Jorn

A striking example of Asger Jorn's 'Modifications' series, where the artist subverts a traditional portrait with raw, expressive brushwork.

Asger Jorn, a founding member of the CoBrA movement, produced this work as part of his 'Modifications' series. In these pieces, Jorn acquired existing, often conventional, amateur or flea-market paintings and applied his own expressive, gestural interventions directly onto the surface. This practice aimed to disrupt the original intent of the found object, creating a dialogue between the traditional portraiture of the past and the raw, spontaneous energy of post-war European modernism.

In this specific composition, the original subject is a woman in a formal suit and hat, rendered with a degree of academic realism. Jorn has aggressively altered the facial features, applying thick, impasto paint to create exaggerated, mask-like eyes and a distorted mouth. The contrast between the relatively untouched clothing and the chaotic, visceral treatment of the face creates a tension that is characteristic of Jorn's approach to painting. The title, which translates to 'Smile Cold Street', adds a layer of irony to the unsettling transformation of the figure.

Jorn viewed these modifications as a way to liberate painting from the constraints of bourgeois taste. By defacing the original image, he forced the viewer to confront the artificiality of the portrait genre. The work does not seek to beautify or refine the subject, but rather to expose the underlying instability of the human image. The brushwork is heavy and deliberate, prioritising emotional impact over anatomical accuracy. This piece remains a significant example of Jorn's desire to challenge artistic conventions through subversion and direct action, reflecting his broader interest in the intersection of folk art, spontaneity, and critical theory.