Jan J. Schoonhoven's life (1914-1994) is inextricably linked to Delft, where he was born and died. He knew the old city of painter Vermeer like no other. He was devoted to each stone, each facade. He used the monumental shapes of buildings as inspiration for the white paper reliefs he became famous for. Nowadays, these works fetch top prices at international auction houses, however, the story of his life is hardly known. It is often assumed he was self-taught, simply because he worked daily as a civil servant in The Hague. His artistic development is comparable to that of his fellow artist Piet Mondriaan. In the film and the book Jan J. Schoonhoven's development is based on interviews with people who knew him.