Comparing Dracula and J.M.W. Turner's Paintings

One of the most interesting parts of the trip was the visit to the Tate British Museum. On this trip, the class got to compare J.M.W. Turner’s work of the sublime with the story of Dracula. Before going to the museum, Dr. Langguth asked the class to consider the idea that Bram Stoker used Turner’s works to make some of the descriptive scenes throughout Dracula.

There were many parts of Dracula that resembled scenes from Turner’s works. One of the first paintings that resembled a scene from Dracula was Snowstorm (1842). This painting resembles one of the boat storm scenes that happens in Dracula. It resembles Dracula in several ways. The viewpoint of the storm narrowing into where the boat is in the storm could remind a viewer of a “red” eye looking towards the boat. Also, the eeriness of the storm in the paintings looks like what Stoker wrote in his book. The scenery (the eeriness), which consisted of darkness, mist, and danger of the waves, makes the book visual and descriptive. The colors used were very fascinating as well. The black used in the painting showed the pure darkness of the storm. Also, the blend of the white and black shows that the movement of the storm and the use of gray helps the viewer visualize that there is mist or even a storm going on. Because of these effects that Turner used in his paintings, it was easy to visualize the story of Dracula and make it come to life.



Another Turner painting that resembled the ship scene in Dracula was a painting entitled Fishing Boats Bringing a Disabled Ship into Port Ruysdael (1844). One of the first features that will catch the viewer’s eyes is the landscape of the painting. The landscape that is produced in this painting is of a storm in the ocean with ships in it. The ocean, which is a part of the storm, is controlling these little ships. The ocean is putting these ships in danger and it seems like there is nothing these ships can do because the waves are to destructive because of the wind. This could remind a viewer of the storm that occurred in Dracula. The scene in Dracula says, “One of the greatest and suddenest storms on record has just been experienced here….The waves rose in growing fury, each overtopping its fellow, till in a very few minutes the lately glassy sea was roaring and devouring monster” (Stoker 85, 87). Also, the features of “white-crested waves” and the mist, which the captain of the boat in Dracula talks about in his notes, used in the painting makes the story of Dracula seem more real and visual. It seems as if Stoker could have used this particular scene to talk about the dangers of the storm that is written about in Dracula.



There is also a Turner painting that is very comparable to the scene in Dracula where Mina pastes a story from a newspaper called The Dailygraph about a sunset that occurred before the storm . The painting is called Scarlet Sunset (1832). This scene seems like a perfect resemblance to what the newspaper said about the sunset. The book says, “Before the sun dipped below the black mass of Kettleness, standing boldly athwart the western sky, its downward way was marked by myriad clouds of every sunset-colour - flame, purple, pink, green, violet, and all tints of gold….” (Stoker 86). The colors used in Dracula are the same as those in the painting by Turner. The clouds are red (flame), purple, there are some that are pink, green, violet, and some that are gold. Because there is such a strong resemblance, it can be inferred that Stoker most likely used Turner’s work to detail his stories.



Finally, another painting that caught my eye was not in the Turner exhibit gallery, but in the regular gallery at the Tate, it was a comparison of a Turner painting, Sunrise, a Castle on a Bay: `Solitude‘ (circa 1940-5), and another painter named Claude Gellée who painted The Enchanted Castle (1664). The paintings are very similar, but Turner made his more eerie. It is believed that Turner used Gellée’s painting to produce his own picture of the sublime. Both pictures display a castle, which seems like a “Transylvanian” or Dracula owned castle. Gellée’s picture seems very colorful and looks towards a happy surrounding, but the same cannot be said about Turner’s similar painting. Turner’s painting looks exactly like a scene portrayed in Dracula. The scene is of a castle hiding in the mist. The trees and landscape make the painting more horrifying and eerie. When looking at the picture, it would probably make a reader think of John Harker approaching Dracula’s estate and him being afraid of going there. With this painting, a viewer can look through the eyes of Harker and what he saw instead of hearing him talk about it. For most people it is easier to see things than to hear about them. Thanks to Turner, a viewer is able to see and picture things that Stoker would have drawn if he could have drawn it in his writings.





In the end, it can be concluded that Stoker could have used Turner’s paintings to make the visual scenes that are produced in Dracula. The scenery, landscapes, and colors that Turner used brought the story of Dracula to life If Stoker was asked to use illustrations in the book, he would probably have used the paintings of Turner to make his story come to life.