Why do artists paint bowls of fruit?

In any art gallery you see lots of bowls of fruit. You also see flowers and vases and even some cubes. Why?

Bowls of fruit can't be the most exciting things to draw. I'd like to ask my sister - as she seems to know a lot about art through her boyfriend.

Anyway, I think it's because fruit are shapely, colourful objects that are pretty easy to find in your house. Many of the beginner art books use fruit as drawing examples - they have good combinations of colours and nice, shiny lighting effects.

Same with flowers and vases and cubes. Good practice for shading or drawing. You can draw or paint a bowl of fruit in an endless number of ways - and each way can make the fruit look different in terms of texture or mood.

I'm going to go draw an apple now.