The film tells us the last twenty-five years of the life of the well-known and eccentric British painter, J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). Deeply affected by the death of his father, loved by a housekeeper who he ignores and occasionally explores sexually, Turner establishes a close relationship with the owner of a pension by the sea, with whom lives incognito in Chelsea, where he will eventually die. In the course of these years, he travels, paints, attends the aristocracy, visits brothels, becomes an esteemed artist, although a little undisciplined. He is thus both recognized and despised by the public and the royalty.