Jean-Jacques Rousseau is widely considered the “Father of Romanticism” due to his profound influence on the movement’s core tenets. An 18th-century Genevan philosopher, Rousseau championed emotion, individualism, and the inherent goodness of nature over the perceived corrupting influence of society and pure reason. His writings, such as 'Emile' and 'Confessions,' emphasized personal feeling, the sublime in nature, and a return to a more natural state, laying the philosophical groundwork for the Romantic era.
Friedrich Schlegel was a prominent German Romantic theorist and critic, a key figure *within* the movement, but not its originator. Similarly, William Wordsworth was a foundational English Romantic poet, instrumental in shaping English Romantic literature, but he built upon the philosophical foundations laid by predecessors like Rousseau. Therefore, Rousseau's earlier philosophical contributions make him the primary precursor.