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 d...
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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...
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