The oil painting depicts an old, bearded priest holding a cup and saucer looking over a young boy reading a book. The priest is wearing a dark blue/green hat. The boy is wearing a dark red hat. They are sitting in a room with a coble stone floor, a small wooden cabinet off to the right side, and an entry way to another room in the right background. The decorative wooden frame is painted gold. The matting is a off-white material. "82798 Pappas" is written in pencil on the back of the frame. The artist signed the bottom right of the canvas "T. Hvlwvidrs? Dimensions: 39.875 X 32.125 x 2.5.

In Greek history, the term Krifó scholió (Secret School) refers to supposedly illegal underground schools for teaching the Greek language and Christian doctrines, provided by the Greek Orthodox Church under Ottoman rule in Greece between the 15th and 19th centuries. The existence of such schools is today believed by most Greek scholars to be a national myth. The myth of Secret Schools began during the war for Greek Independence in 1821.

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