Still life with green apples and pears 1948

Forrest Bess made this still life of green apples and pears back in '48, using oil on what looks like a square of board. You know, when I look at this painting, I imagine Bess squinting, really trying to see those apples and pears, not just looking, but feeling their weight and their slight imperfections through paint. The colors are bold, yet muted, like he mixed in a bit of earth with his yellows and greens, right? He wasn't interested in making them perfect or shiny, like some commercial ad. That red stripe cutting through the yellow, it's so him, kind of awkward and brilliant at the same time. This feels like Bess working out something deeper, something beyond just a bowl of fruit. I always wonder, did he eat those apples and pears afterwards, or did they become something else entirely?