1. Joseph Parrocel was a French Baroque painter, best known for his paintings and drawings of battle scenes.
19 Facts About Joseph Parrocel
1. 2.
Joseph Parrocel was born in Brignoles, into an artistic family that produced fourteen painters over six generations.
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Joseph Parrocel was only thirteen years old when his father died in 1660.
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Joseph Parrocel left for Paris and stayed there for four years, perfecting his skills.
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Joseph Parrocel then returned to the Provence and continued his journey to Italy, where he would stay for eight years.
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Joseph Parrocel studied the works of Salvator Rosa, an unorthodox proto-Romantic painter.
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Joseph Parrocel worked with him in his workshop and was thoroughly influenced by him, even if he gave his style later a more French touch.
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Joseph Parrocel then started a journey through Italy and finally arrived in Venice.
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Joseph Parrocel was planning to settle in this town but after eight brigands had attempted to murder him on the Rialto Bridge, he left Italy in disgust.
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Joseph Parrocel settled in Paris in 1675 and earned himself a reputation.
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However the French Secretary of State for War, the Marquis de Louvois recognized the talent of Joseph Parrocel and gave him the commission to paint one of the dining halls of Les Invalides in Paris with scenes of conquest by Louis XIV.
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When Joseph Parrocel had finished the painting "Crossing of the Rhine" for the Palace of Versailles, Mansart wanted to remove it.
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Joseph Parrocel is best known for his heroic battle scenes but painted landscapes, historical pieces and religious works, such as "The temptation of St Peter in the desert".
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Joseph Parrocel produced paintings for the church "Notre-Dame des Victoires", the Hotel de Soubise and the Hotel de Toulouse, all in Paris.
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Joseph Parrocel was one of the first to paint hunting scenes.
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Joseph Parrocel's differed from his contemporary academician Adam Frans van der Meulen by being more original and vivid in his execution.
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Joseph Parrocel applied broad, nervous layers with dazzling movements, using intense colours.
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Joseph Parrocel's works are exhibited in many French museums, but abroad in Hannover and in Quebec.
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Joseph Parrocel apprenticed his two sons Jean Joseph, who became a draughtsman and engineer, and Charles, who became a painter and engraver, his nephews Jacques-Ignace and Pierre, who both became painters and engravers.