Herbert visited the corridor of an old school shown here, which is now used as a center for artists, twice during the Kralingen-Crooswijk Art Route in 2015 and 2021. The old school is in the Lambertusstraat 104 in the Rotterdam district of Kralingen. The school building has 13 studios, which house artists from different disciplines.
This painting depicts the upper hallway of the building. Striking are the two parquet planers who work on the wooden floor. Herbert was inspired by the parquet planers following the painting of the same name (Les raboteurs de parquet) by the French painter Gustave Caillebotte who painted it in 1875. In his painting Caillebotte shows three men at work. In the work of Herbert there are two (given the width of the corridor). Moreover, they are mirrored in relation to the work of the French painter. The painting by Caillebotte now hangs in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
Wall posters are also depicted on the right-hand side and furniture and the like are stored in the ceiling above the light portal at the end of the corridor. In the hallway are boxes with paintings and picture frames for the painters in the building.