This painting is characteristic of Willem van Aelst's work, and of the type of illusionistic genre painting that was much in vogue in the Netherlands after 1650. It can be dated to c. 1670 by comparison with signed and dated works, such as the ‘Grapes and Peaches’ of 1670 (Louvre). The expertly rendered textures draw out the comparison between man-made and natural objects: the velvet tablecloth echoes the subtle sheen of the grapes, while the insects that are drawn to the fruit introduce a living presence to an otherwise inanimate composition. However, as with any Dutch still life of this period, it is tempting to see an underlying message of vanitas: the living creatures, like the fruit, will decay.

Van Aelst was a still-life painter specialising in flower and fruit, dead birds and breakfast pieces. Born in Delft, he travelled in France and Italy, and was for a time court painter to Ferdinando II de'Medici (1610-70), Grand Duke of Tuscany. However, after moving to Amsterdam in 1657, he remained there for the rest of his life.