Brandes, Georg Morris Cohen, 1842-1927, Danish literary critic. His influence brought the wide currents of contemporary European thought to Danish and other Scandinavian literatures. He wrote and lectured in many languages and many believed him to be the greatest critic since Taine. Yet he was refused the chair in aesthetics at the Univ. of Copenhagen in 1870 because he was a Jew, an atheist, and a "radical." He was granted the same chair in 1902. After finishing Critiques and Portraits (1870), he traveled on the Continent, meeting, among others, Taine and Renan, who influenced his ideas and work. On his return he wrote Main Currents in Nineteenth-Century Literature (6 vol., 1872-90, tr. 1901-5), an attack on provincialism and reaction. An opponent of romanticism, Brandes helped direct the Scandinavian literatures toward realism and concern with social issues. While he took credit for introducing feminism to Denmark with his translation of John Stuart Mill's On the Subjugation of Women into Danish (1869), he completely excluded women authors from his canon-setting work Men of the Modern Breakthrough (1883). His review, the Nittende Aarhundrede, was discontinued after three years. Brandes spent some time in Berlin, where he came under the influence of Nietzsche. He was attacked during the war for maintaining total neutrality. Among his later works are William Shakespeare (1895-96, tr. 1898), Goethe (1915, tr. 1924), Voltaire (1916, tr. 1930), and Jesus, a Myth (1925, tr. 1926), a work which gained him many enemies.

(born Feb. 4, 1842, Copenhagen, Den.—died Feb. 19, 1927, Copenhagen) Danish critic and scholar. His published lectures at the University of Copenhagen, Main Currents in 19th-Century Thought, 6 vol. (1872–90), catalyzed the breakthrough from Romanticism to realism in Danish literature. His calls for writers to work in the service of progressive ideas and the reform of modern society, along with his championing of such writers as Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, earned strong conservative opposition but exerted enormous influence throughout Scandinavia. His other critical works include Men of the Modern Breakthrough (1883) and Danish Poets (1877).

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(born Feb. 4, 1842, Copenhagen, Den.—died Feb. 19, 1927, Copenhagen) Danish critic and scholar. His published lectures at the University of Copenhagen, Main Currents in 19th-Century Thought, 6 vol. (1872–90), catalyzed the breakthrough from Romanticism to realism in Danish literature. His calls for writers to work in the service of progressive ideas and the reform of modern society, along with his championing of such writers as Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, earned strong conservative opposition but exerted enormous influence throughout Scandinavia. His other critical works include Men of the Modern Breakthrough (1883) and Danish Poets (1877).

Learn more about Brandes, Georg (Morris Cohen) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Brandes (Burns) is a German surname and Jewish surname, and may refer to:

• Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes (died 2001), German cannibalism victim
• Charles Brandes, American money manager
• David Brandes (born 1968), German musician
• Edsel Brandes (born 1979), U.S. Merchant Marine
• Eddo Brandes, cricketer from Zimbabwe
• Edvard Brandes (1847–1931), dänischer Kulturpolitiker und Schriftsteller, brother of George Brandes
• George Brandes (1842–1927), Danish writer and literatur critic, brother of Edvard Brandes
• John Brandes (born 1964), American football player
• Richard John Brandes, American businessman
• Wilhelm Brandes (1854–1928), German writer
• Xarden Brandes (born-1979), U.S. Navy
• Alwin Brandes (1866–1949), Geman politician and trade union leader
• Bruno Brandes (1910–1985), German lawyer and politician (CDU), MdB, MdL Niedersachsen
• Christian Brandes (born 1971), German politician (Partei Rechtsstaatlicher Offensive)
• Detlef Brandes (born 1941), German historian and professor at Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf
• Dietmar Brandes (born 1948), German botanist, professor and librarian
• Ebert Q Brandes (1930-2000), American Architect
• Ernst Brandes (1758–1810), German lawyer
• Ester Charlotte Brandes (1742–1786), actress
• Gerhard Brandes (1902–1999), German politician and senator for Hamburg
• Gustav Brandes (1842–1941), German zoologist
• Heinrich Brandes (1803–1868), German landscape painter
• Heinrich Wilhelm Brandes (1777–1834), German astronomer, mathematician and physicist
• Hennig Brandes (born 1958), German politician (CDU)
• Ilse Brandes (born 1897), German politician (CDU)
• Johann Christian Brandes (1735–1799), German dramatist
• Lothar Brandes (born 1926), German painter
• Rudolph Simon Brandes (1795–1842), German naturalist and pharmacist
• Werner Brandes (1889–1968), German cameraman
• Will Brandes (1928–1990), German pop singer
• Winfried Brandes (born 1942), managing director of 'Prussian Memorial Institute e.V.'

See also

• Brandes Investment Partners
• Naschitz Brandes & Co.
• Brand
• Brandeis
• Brandis (surname)