THE most significant cultural moment here since Turner visited himself” is how Petworth House curator Andrew Loukes describes the filming of Mike Leigh’s biopic at the stately home.

And to mark the occasion, following the release of the multi-award-winning movie Mr Turner late last year, Petworth House has augmented its collection of 20 original paintings by the master with more than 30 loans from major collections.

And there will also be an insight into the week-long shoot with sets, costumes, props and even paintings created by Timothy Spall as part of two years researching the role.

“There are lots of themes in the film,” says Loukes. “We’ve picked a handful of those themes and tried to expand upon them to give them a bit more context, using not only paintings by Turner that come across in the film, but also some of the stuff he actually owned.”

Among the personal items appearing as part of the exhibition are Turner’s fishing rod, his signet ring and a watch.

“They help bring him to life to people who are only familiar with him through his pictures,” says Loukes.

Mr Turner focuses on the last 25 years of the artist’s life – covering the death of his father, his love affairs with a devoted housekeeper and a Margate landlady, his battles with contemporary critics and his increasing infirmity.

Turner was first commissioned to come to Petworth, home of arts patron George Wyndham, the 3rd Earl of Egremont, back in 1809.

Between 1827 to 1837 he spent at least a week each year in the stately home selling his pictures to the Earl, carrying out commissions and painting the Downs landscape.

“Egremont was an extraordinary guy,” says Loukes. “Most aristocrats were still very much in the business of buying old masters. He was radical in his sponsorship of Turner.

“It’s often tempting to think of Petworth as an open house for artists, who would come here and lark about. But the artists were all very well-established society figures and serious people. They treated Petworth as an academy of British art. For Turner and Constable it was a retreat, almost like a holiday, where they wouldn’t be bothered by anybody and could stay with fellow artists.”

What made Petworth particularly important in the making of the film was the fact it has remained largely unaltered since Turner’s time.

“It is really the only authentic location,” says Loukes. “Turner’s London house, which was in Queen Anne Street in the West End was actually shot in Woolwich. The Royal Academy scenes were shot in Yorkshire. Margate was replaced by Cornwall.

“Mike Leigh was very proud to come here, and really embraced the opportunity – he treated the place with integrity.

“As far as the film is concerned the paintings you see at Petworth are the only original Turner paintings seen in the whole film. The rest were all mocked up and painted for the film, although they are based on real Turner paintings.”

The mocked-up paintings for the film, which are also on display, were created by Coldean-based artist Charlie Cobb.

The exhibition offers a rare chance to look around the Old Library, the location where Turner set up his studio when he stayed in Petworth.

And perhaps Turner’s biggest contribution to the 3rd Earl’s home was the redesigned Carved Room – which is home to four specially commissioned landscapes by the artist. They have all been relit for the exhibition.

“The Carved Room dates back to the 17th century,” says Loukes. “The redesign was a collaborative process between patron and artist – they tried several different subjects.”

One of the paintings put forward for the room but ultimately rejected – of the Earl out walking in the park with his dogs – has been brought back to Petworth on loan from London’s Tate gallery.

Leigh’s team helped put the exhibition together. It has been co-curated with research consultant Jacqueline Riding, with designer Suzie Davies, set decorator Charlotte Watts and portrait artist Tim Wright – who taught Spall how to paint – all helping recreate interiors to reflect what is seen in the film.

Talking about his experience of working in Petworth, director Mike Leigh said: “Petworth is such an extraordinary, rare and rarefied place. It’s still as Turner would have experienced it – the sunset you see on a clear day at Petworth is exactly what Turner paints, it’s no different now from when it was 180 years ago.

“I make films about place – even if I’m making a film about modern characters in a suburban semi-detached house the fact I’m filming in a real place, in a real environment informs the whole spirit and nature of what goes on.”

Leigh’s film company, Thin Man Productions has made a short documentary about the making of the film at Petworth which will be screened as part of the exhibition.

“It adds all these extra little dimensions alongside these incredible paintings,” says Loukes, who worked closely with the film’s art department to get the right historical aesthetic on film.

“There were endless meetings about what was safe to do,” he says, recalling that for one shot the Carved Room was illuminated by 200 naked candles.

“It was terrific – it was all done in a very controlled way with the relevant risk assessments and fire people on hand. There was never any danger. It was a very educational experience.

“We had to move a dozen late-Victorian bookcases, and hide any sign of modern lighting and sockets, but other than that the interiors today are pretty much as Turner would have known them.”

While the film tried to pin down the nature and character of Turner, the exhibition also tries to offer contemporary views of the artist.

“All the written accounts of Turner are very contradictory,” says Loukes. “Some people said he was the most generous man they had ever met, others said he was a miser.

“Some say he was miserable while others describe him as the life and soul of the party.”

Turner never allowed anyone to formally take his portrait.

“Most of the images of him from his own time were done quickly or surreptitiously,” says Loukes. “Or they are romantic pastiches of what he looked like.

“We thought we would choose a selection in the exhibition to experience the different ways in which he was portrayed.

“Of course Petworth is an important part of Turner’s story, but at the same time it is only one part of a complex picture.”