Biography

French painter, member of a family of painters of Dutch descent working in France. The most important members of the family were Jean-Baptiste, Carle (1705-1765), the brother of Jean-Baptiste, and Louis-Michel (1707-1771), the son of Jean-Baptist.

Carle went with his brother to Rome in 1714, and back to Paris in 1720. After study in Paris he returned to Rome in 1727, the year Boucher arrived there. Rivalry between them continued in Paris, and Boucher did not became Principal Painter to the King and Director of the Academy until 1765, after van Loo's death. Carle van Loo worked in Turin for two years before returning to Paris in 1734. He was elected to the Academy in 1735, and became the most famous member of the family in France, being appointed Principal Painter to the King in 1762, and Director of the Academy in 1763. There are works by him, principally decorations, in many French museums and elsewhere.