Luis Paret y Alcázar was born in Madrid and studied at the newly formed Royal Academy of San Fernando. He received royal favour at an early age. In the early 1760s he was in Rome, sponsored by Don Luis de Borbón, brother of Charles III. In 1775, however, he was exiled from the court in Madrid after a suspected involvement in a scandal concerning his patron. He subsequently lived in Puerto Rico and northern Spain for a time. In 1786 he returned to Madrid, where he became a respected member of the Academy.