Étienne Parrocel

Étienne Parrocel belonged to the third generation of artists in the artistic dynasty of the Parrocel family. He was the son of the painter Ignace-Jacques who worked in Firenze, and the nephew of Pierre, a painter of religious subjects established in Paris around 1700. Étienne’s father left the marital home when Étienne was only fourteen, and therefore Étienne learned to paint from his uncle Pierre. Étienne followed his uncle to Rome in 1717, and subsequently remained there. The artist spent his entire career in Rome, hence his nickname Étienne Le Romain, and the Italianization of his first name as Stefano (used for his signature and in the ltalian artistic literature). In Italy, Étienne was known as a painter of religious paintings, responding to important commissions for churches in Rome and the surrounding area, but also of his native Provence. The artist became a member of the Academy of Saint Luke in 1734.