Jean Donneau de Visé (1638 – 8 July 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". Life Donneau de Visé was born in Paris. He 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. Work In 1664, Donneau de Visé produced a heterogenous literary compilation under the title Les Diversités gallantes (English:Various Galantries). It was published by Claude Barbin, initially consisting of: A preface dedicated to Louis Joseph, Duke of Guise, who had just inherited his title, and a dialogue discussing his qualities, 16 pages in length. The novella L'apothicaire de qualité, nouvellee galante et veritable (English: The Noble Apothecary, A Gallant and True Story), 45 pages in length. A letter critique of the recent theatrical output of Molière, 15 pages in length. A comic novella set at a Parisian inn, 52 pages in length. The seven-scene, one-act theatrical play La Vengéance des Marquis (English: The Marquis' Revenge), 40 pages in length. The work proved popular and was reprinted twice in 1664.