Jean Donneau de Visé

Jean Donneau de Visé (1638, Paris - 1710) was a French journalist, royal historian ("historiographe du roi"), playwright and publicist. He was founder of the literary, arts and society gazette "le Mercure galant" (founded in 1672) and was associated with the "Moderns" in the "Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns".

Donneau de Visé was among the detractors of Molière during the quarrel over Molière's play "The School for Wives" (1662, "l’École des femmes"), accusing the author of obscenity and moral licentiousness. But Donneau de Visé eventually became reconciled with the comic playwright and contributed his own plays to Molière's acting troop, starting with la Mère coquette (1665) and (after Molière's death) several "machine" plays ("pièces à machines", i.e. plays with elaborate special scenic effects) written in collaboration with Thomas Corneille -- Circé (1675) and la Devineresse (1679) -- which were very successful in their runs at the Hôtel Guénégaud.

Donneau de Visé wrote a collection of short novelas: Nouvelles galantes et comiques (1669).

In 1672, Donneau de Visé founded the "Mercure galant", a gazette on the arts, theater and literature, which also included galant songs and society news and gossip. Although frequently denigrated by authors of the period (such as Jean de La Bruyère), the periodical eventually became a financial success, and brought (along with his plays and his work as royal historian) Donneau de Visé comfortable revenues.

At his death in 1710, Donneau de Visé's "Mercure galant" had become the uncontested arbiter of literary taste and the paper of record for news about the court and court society for subscribers in the provinces.

References

• Dandrey , Patrick, ed. Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le XVIIe siècle. Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1996.
• Harvey, Paul and J.E. Heseltine, eds. The Oxford Compagnon to French Literature. London: Oxford University Press, 1959.