Jacques Blanchard trained first with his maternal uncle, Nicolas Baullery, son of Jérôme Baullery. Both father and son may have been part of the workshop decorating the Palace of Fontainebleau. In 1618 Blanchard entered the studio of Horace Le Blanc in Lyon and then continued his travels to Italy in the company of his brother, the painter Jean-Baptiste Blanchard. In Italy, he found inspiration in the work of the Venetian painters, especially Titian, Veronese, and Tintoretto. In his short life Blanchard was able to secure important commissions, painting a number of mythological and allegorical works that brought him fame, and he became Painter to the King two years before his death.