Vlaminck, the son of a Flemish father and a French mother, initially earned a livelihood in Paris as a violinist and as a bicycle racer before turning to art. A rebellious individual, he opposed all academies and art schools. Encouraged by Henri Matisse, Vlaminck joined the Fauve movement in 1905, where bold colors, flat patterns, and free brushwork were emphasized. In this vigorous still life from 1911, a compote containing fruit sits in a foreshortened space, its placement precariously close to the edge of a tabletop. The brightly-colored fruit and the mottled white of the dish are in sharp contrast to the deep tones of the background, which lighten only at the top of this carefully structured composition.