Galerie Paul Prouté

Born into a famous family of painters, Charles Parrocel joined a French cavalry regiment at the age of seventeen, before taking up the trade of his father Joseph, known as Joseph Bataille Parrocel (1646-1704). After leaving the service and sending a notable painting to Paris, the young man stayed from 1712 to 1721 as the king's pensionnaire at the Académie de France in Rome. On his return to Paris, Parrocel was appointed to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture and received numerous commissions for equestrian and military scenes. He executed several paintings and cartoons that served as models for the Gobelins tapestry factory. Parrocel also accompanied Louis XV on his campaigns in the Austrian Netherlands from 1744 to 1745, notably attending the Battle of Fontenoy.