The director of Abigail’s Party and Secrets & Lies chose Sussex to film parts of his latest award-winning movie.
Mike Leigh visited the 17th mansion Petworth House in West Sussex to capture scenes for Mr. Turner, which explores the last quarter century of landscape painter, JMW Turner.
Turner famously had the run of the house when he visited his patron at Petworth, the third Earl of Egremont, and even annexed the giant library as his art studio.
Leigh and Timothy Spall, named best actor at Cannes Film Festival for his performance in the film, spent a week filming in Sussex.
“In the film, the shot of Turner painting a woman and two girls in the Library is an exact replica, even colour-wise, of a watercolour he painted called The Artist and his Admirers,” says Spall.
“To be in the very room where Turner painted this scene, to be inside that painting, was an astounding privilege.”
In one shot, Turner and the Earl (played by Patrick Godfrey) are seen studying four landscapes recently completed by the artist. These paintings can still be viewed in their original position today.
“This was another incredible moment, and one that I will never forget in my entire career,” says Spall.
Mr. Turner is due for release on October 31.
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