The 19th-century movement that preceded naturalism as a reaction is best described as emphasizing emotion and imagination; what is its name?

• A. Baroque
• B. Realism
• C. Impressionism
• D. Romanticism

Answer: (D)

Romanticism centers on emotion, imagination, and individual experience as a reaction against the Enlightenment emphasis on reason and the changes of the Industrial Age. In art and literature, it elevates feeling, the power of the imagination, and a sense of mystery in nature—the sublime, the heroic, and the exotic. This movement comes before naturalism, which shifts toward careful, sometimes scientific, observation of everyday life. Baroque is much earlier and known for dramatic richness, while Realism and Impressionism respond to different concerns—Realism focusing on truthful everyday life and Impressionism on fleeting perceptual impressions—so they don’t fit the idea of a reaction driven by emotion and imagination.