He trained first in Montpellier with Antoine Ranc (1634–1716), in whose studio he completed his early painting Ariadne on Naxos before moving to the Paris studio of Bon Boullogne and in 1704 won the Prix de Rome with David Slaying Goliath.
He completed his education at the Académie de France in Rome and also spent time in Florence and Padua.
For the Cathedral at Padua he executed an Annunciation and a Visitation.
He moved to Venice in 1707, where he made contact with his future patron Philippe de Vendôme (1665–1727), Grand Prior of the Order of the Knights of Malta.
From 1714 he lodged in the Grand Prior’s Paris residence, the Temple, a privilege that was renewed in 1719 by Vendôme’s successor Jean-Philippe, Chevalier d’Orléans, who commissioned a number of decorative works for the Temple.
Among Raoux’s portraits was one of Vendôme, shown wearing the robes of the Order.
The painter actively participated in the revival of French painting during the Regency.
Virtuoso, sensual, elegant, Jean Raoux truly merits that his home town dedicates a major exhibition to him.