François de Troy came from a family of artists: his grandfather, father and older brother were also painters. At the age of fifteen, de Troy moved from Toulouse to Paris, where he studied under the royal portrait painter Claude Lefèbre, among others. The latter introduced him to Charles Le Brun, also court painter to King Louis XIV, who entrusted de Troy with the execution of parts of his works. In 1674, de Troy was admitted to the Royal Academy of Arts. Although de Troy mainly painted histories at the beginning of his career, he only became known as a portrait painter. In 1679, he received his first prestigious commission, a portrait of the Swedish ambassador in Paris. Portraits of numerous noblemen followed. For the next five decades, he worked in the circle of the court. In 1690, de Troy became court painter to the English King James II, who lived in exile in France. Towards the end of his life, de Troy also painted small-format genre scenes, which were very popular with his noble clients.