Under the Romantics’ influence, imitation did not merely become less favored than previously. It came to be actively disdained and disparaged—an attitude that was carried forward into succeeding decades. The naturalists of the late nineteenth century described imitation as the habit of children, women, and “savages,” and held up original expression as the preserve of European men. Innovation climbed to the top of the cultural value system, while imitation sank to an unaccustomed low.
