This is one of a group of related canvases featuring seasonal fruit that Vincent van Gogh painted in the fall of 1887. In these works, he simplified his palette, employed more vibrant colors, and used a thicker, broader paint application than he had earlier. Here he explored the use of complementary colors - yellow and purple, blue and orange, and red and green - in the service of chromatic intensity. The effect of these color contrasts is heightened by the pulsating pattern of brushstrokes that defines the tablecloth and creates a force field around the fruit. The painting was probably among the "violent still lifes" to quote Van Gogh's friend the painter Emile Bernard - that he included in the group exhibition of young avant-garde artists that he organized at a local restaurant in November - December 1887.