Clève was born in Paris in 1646 to a family of Flemish goldsmiths and baptized on 10 June that year.

His grandfather, a merchant goldsmith, immigrated to Paris from Flanders and was naturalized by King Henry IV in 1606.

[1] Cleve studied under French sculptor François Anguier and received the Prix de Rome scholarship in 1671.

He went on to become a sculptor, working in his father's workshop and earning several awards from the Académie, but would die on 4 June 1711.

[1] Clève died during the night of 30-31 December 1732 following a long bout of illness that begun in April 1730.