Final answer:
The era characterized by an emphasis on individuality, emotional expression, and nature is known as Romanticism. This movement heavily influenced the arts in the 18th and 19th centuries, challenging classical norms and focusing on emotion and imagination.
Step-by-step explanation:
The importance of the individual, emotional expression, and respect for nature are all themes that denote the era of Romanticism. This artistic and literary movement emerged towards the end of the 18th century as a response to the Industrial Revolution and continued into the 19th century. Romanticism glorified nature, common people, exotic places, and the historical past and was characterized by a rebellion against the classical norms of art, allowing artists to express their imagination and emotions freely. Landscape painting, particularly, was influenced by Romanticism, leading to the emergence of movements like the Hudson River School in America and the Barbizon School in France. Romantic artists often depicted individuals within the powerful presence of nature to highlight the sublime and awe-inspiring qualities of the natural world. Art-centric definitions of the period clearly state that the Romantic movement legitimized the individual's imagination as a critical authority, allowing for freedom from the classical forms in art and focused on the emotional rather than rational understanding of human experiences and the natural world.