In this week's Science Times (New York Times), William Broad describes how a powerful volcano in 1815 influenced not just climate, but also painting and literature. In April of 1815, the volcanic peak Tambora, on the island of Sumbawa in present-day Indonesia, lost a mile of elevation in a powerful explosion that was heard for hundreds of miles around. The dust that was injected into the atmosphere reflected radiation, cooled climate, and led to the "year without a summer" across much of the northern hemisphere. Blizzards in June, hail throughout the summer, and very little sun led to crop failure and famine.
The particles in the atmosphere led to spectacular skies and red sunsets, depicted in many paintings from that era. In fact, studies of paintings done between 1500-2000 have documented an increase in the amount of redness of the skies that corresponds with known volcanic eruptions (paper here). The 19th century was a time of frequent volcanism, and several paintings show this influence. A famous example is Edvard Mönch's "The Scream," shown at left. 
As well, the gloomy summer led to literature of lasting importance. According to Broad,
"That June [1816], the cold and stormy weather sent the English tourists inside a lakeside villa to warm themselves by a fire and exchange ghost stories. Mary Shelley, then 18, was part of a literary coterie that included Percy Shelley, her future husband, as well as Lord Byron. Wine flowed, as did laudanum, a form of opium. Candles flickered.
In this moody atmosphere, Mary
Shelley came up with her lurid tale of Frankenstein, which she published two
years later. And Lord Byron hit on the outline of the modern vampire tale,
published later by a compatriot as “The Vampyre.” The freakish weather also
inspired Byron’s apocalyptic poem “Darkness.” "
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