Joseph Parrocel (3 October 1646 – 1 March 1704) was a French Baroque painter, best known for his paintings and drawings of battle scenes.

His talent as a painter became soon noticed and he got a commission for a number of paintings with scenes of the life of Saint Anthony of Padua for the church Saint-Martin.

In Rome he became the pupil of Jacques Courtois, a famous painter of battle scenes who was also known als "le Bourguignon" or "il Borgognone".

He was planning to settle in this town but after eight brigands had attempted to murder him on the Rialto Bridge, he left Italy in disgust.

However, Charles Le Brun, who headed the Academy, refused his cooperation in the paintings of scenes of the campaigns of king Louis XIV, designed to become tapestries in the Gobelins manufactory.

However the French Secretary of State for War, the Marquis de Louvois recognized the talent of Parrocel and gave him the commission to paint one of the dining halls of Les Invalides in Paris with scenes of conquest by Louis XIV.

He is best known for his heroic battle scenes but painted also landscapes, historical pieces and religious works, such as "The temptation of St. Peter in the desert" (1694).

His differed from his contemporary academician Adam Frans van der Meulen by being more original and vivid in his execution.