Film 18. yüzyılda, bir ressamın modeliyle aşkını anlatıyor. Ressam Marianne’a, manastırdan henüz çıkan ve evlenmek üzere olan genç Héloïse’in portresi sipariş edilir. Ancak Marianne, bu portreyi Héloïse’dan habersiz çizmelidir. Bu kısıtlamanın önüne geçmek için Marianne, gönülsüz gelin adayı Héloïse’ı önce gözlemler sonra da onunla yakınlaşır.
Bir sokak ressamı, şehrin meydanında insanların kara kalem portre resimlerini çizerken, bir kameralı kız da onu çekiyor sürekli. Şehrin çeteleri de var tabii ki. Ressamı aşağılayarak ondan işgaliye parası alıyorlar. Kameralı kız kendisini takip etmesini istiyor. Ressam, kameralı kızı takip ediyor. Bu takip, onun içine attığı her şeyi intikam olarak dışarı çıkartıyor sonra.
56-year-old artist Mindy Alper has suffered severe depression and anxiety for most of her life. For a time she even lost the power of speech, and it was during this period that her drawings became extraordinarily articulate.
In Edo-era Japan, a ukiyo-e artist languishes in his master’s shadow. Creatively stifled, he finds consolation in the company of a prostitute, and becomes entangled in a love triangle. A mystery emerges involving two portraits and the sudden disappearance of the artist Sharaku. Helmed by Cannes-selected director Tatsuji Yamazaki, the film employs kabuki-inspired sequences and stylised sets.
Recently retired accountant Richard Flicker attends a life-drawing class and his world is turned upside down when he encounters free-spirited Amelia, the spitting image of a long lost love from decades ago. Grappling with a troubled home front, Richard flirts with the temptation of this second chance at romance.
The great philosopher and intellectual Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is painted on behalf of Electress Sophie of Hanover. During the portrait sessions, the philosopher and the young painter engage in a passionate struggle for truth in image and likeness, and ultimately for love and death.
A controlling artist is confronted by his model during their live drawing session making him question his views.