This painting is an explosion of colour. Virtually all of the shades of blue and green in Van Gogh's palette are included in the background of this still life. Over that, Vincent van Gogh added brushstrokes in contrasting colours: yellow, orange, red and pink. He used the same colour combinations for the apples in the foreground, but then in reverse: first the warm tones, followed by the cool green and blue accents. This is how Van Gogh created unity in the picture.