Van Loo followed his brother Jean-Baptiste to Turin, and then to Rome in 1712, where he studied under Benedetto Luti and the sculptor Pierre Le Gros.

After again visiting Turin in 1727, he was employed by king Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, for whom he painted a series of subjects illustrative of Torquato Tasso.

[citation needed] He was decorated with the Order of Saint Michael and named First Painter to king Louis XV of France in 1762.

[1][3] By his simplicity of style and correctness of design, the result of his study of the great Italian masters, he did much to purify the modern French school; but the praise that was later lavished upon his productions now appears undue and excessive.

In the ensuing centuries, Van Loo's critical fortune has plummeted, although his ability remains admirable, and the quality and variety of his work command respect.