Joseph Parrocel was only fourteen when his father, Bartélemy, died and he was subsequently sent to live with his brother Louis in Languedoc. He left three years later for Marseilles where he quickly became known for paintings used to decorate the inside of ships. He was drawn to Paris after a while and remained there for four years but returned to Marseilles before travelling to Italy. He spent time in Rome studying under Jacques Courtois while learning from the work of Salvator Rosa. Stylistically he shows a great debt to these two painters but with his own unique French characteristics. He later moved northwards to Venice where he success caught up with him and he was attacked one night by jealous contemporaries on the Rialto Bridge.

After eight years in Italy and forced by necessity, he decided to return to Paris in 1675, where he was recognized by the Academy in the same year. He exhibited in only one Salon in 1699 but was noticed by Louvois who commissioned an important series on the 'Conquests of Louis XIV' for the Hôtel des Invalides. Many more important commissions followed as a result and despite the jealousy of Mansard, the successor to Louvois, Parrocel was discovered by the King after hearing of his talent. The 'Rhine Landscape' painted for Louvois and "cancelled" by Mansard was hung immediately at Versailles.

He did not restrict himself to battle scenes but painted a number of religious subjects, including the 'St Peter preaching' donated by the Goldsmith's to Notre Dame. He was a painter that stood out from the immediate circle of Adam Frans van der Meulen and was no less an accomplished draughtsman and engraver.

His paintings can be found in museums across France as well as Florence, Leipzig, London (Royal Collection), Quebec and Warsaw.