Fruit on a blue tablecloth 1921

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin made this painting of fruit on a blue tablecloth with oil paint at an unknown date. The first thing I notice is that Petrov-Vodkin has built up the image from simple, geometric forms. There's something about the way the colour is applied that makes everything seem so present. You can almost feel the texture of the fruit, and the cool smoothness of that folded piece of paper, laid out on the deep blue surface. There is a real feeling for the weight of the objects as they sit on the blue cloth. It makes me think of Cezanne, and that kind of slow, deliberate observation that's so key to his still life painting. But Petrov-Vodkin brings something else to the table, something that feels distinctively Russian in its sensibility. There is almost a melancholic tone in its harmonious composition. What does it mean? Is it about simple pleasures, mortality, or something else entirely? I think its best to embrace the ambiguity.