The Mercure du XIXe siècle (sometimes listed as Mercure français du XIXe siècle) was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 literary magazine

Literary magazine

A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...

 published from 1823 to 1830. It was edited by Henri de Latouche

Henri de Latouche

Hyacinthe-Joseph Alexandre Thabaud de Latouche, commonly known as Henri de Latouche was a French poet and novelist known for his publication of André Chénier and early encouragement of George Sand...

 and was famous for the first published use of the word "realism

Realism (arts)

Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...

" (1826) applied to literature. The review was notable for its opposition to Romanticism

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

 and for publishing such early 19th century poets and writers as Senancour.

The Mercure du XIX siècle ("Mercury of the 19th century") modelled its name on another journal, the Mercure de France

Mercure de France

The Mercure de France was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group....

, which ceased publication in 1824. The name Mercure refers to Mercury

Mercury (mythology)

Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...

, the messenger of the gods.