At the request of Mike Leigh, Timothy Spall spent almost two years learning how to paint in preparation for his role.
The working replica of Robert Stephenson's 1830 Planet locomotive is from the Manchester Museum Of Science And Industry. It ran on an old railway track in North Wales, which, crucially, ran east-west. They wanted the sun setting behind the train - the conditions Turner had painted and had only one chance to get the shot right, because the train had to be returned the next day. That night there was a glowing sunset.
After Benjamin Haydon makes a scene at the Royal Academy, he says, "Stretch me no longer on this rough world. I am done with you," as he is exiting. In reality "Stretch me no longer on this rough world" was the note Haydon left when he committed suicide.
The poem recited by Turner, "Be still, my dear Molly, be still", is taken from one of his notebooks (held by the Tate Gallery in London).
The opening scenes supposedly set in Holland/The Netherlands were filmed at Herringfleet Mill, Suffolk despite the two ladies shown speaking Dutch.