Georg Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927), born
Morris Cohen, was a
Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced
Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind the "
Modern Breakthrough" of Scandinavian culture. At the age of 30, Brandes formulated the principles of a new
realism and
naturalism, condemning hyper-aesthetic writing and also fantasy in literature. His literary goals were shared by some other authors, among them the Norwegian "
realist" playwright
Henrik Ibsen.