How did Georg Brandes influence Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg?

The Danish critic Georg Brandes was a central figure in the det moderne gennembrud (the modern breakthrough), a movement that shifted Scandinavian literature toward naturalism and realism beginning around 1870.12

Brandes influenced both Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg by advocating for a literature that rejected the abstract idealism of late Romanticism in favor of engaging with contemporary life, social reality, and progressive reform. His seminal work, Main Currents in 19th Century Literature, provided the intellectual framework for this shift.321

The relationship between Brandes and these dramatists was collaborative and supportive:
* Henrik Ibsen: He and Brandes were friends, and Ibsen explicitly charged the critic to lead the "revolution of the spirit" that Ibsen himself was pursuing through his work.3
* August Strindberg: Brandes championed Strindberg’s work, helping to solidify his role as a key figure in the naturalist movement within Scandinavian literature.3