Adriaen Coorte, Still Life with Five Apricots, 1704, oil on canvas, 30 x 23.5 cm, Mauritshuis, Netherlands.

Adriaen Coorte’s still-lifes all have the same simple layout: some fruit, vegetables or nuts laid on a stone tabletop in the light, against a dark background. Here, Coorte has painted five apricots, which look velvety and tactile. Between the fruits, there is a leafy twig from an apricot tree. He highlighted the edges of the crumpled leaves with small touches of white paint. Coorte put his signature, as usual, on the edge of the tabletop.