With the exception of Valentin de Boulogne's baptismal record, bearing a disputed date of either 1591 or 1594, the artist's early life is undocumented.
The son of a painter and stained glass worker, Valentin likely received his first training with his father in his native Coulommiers, near Paris.
He may subsequently have studied with an artist in Paris or in Fontainebleau.
It is not known when he departed for Italy, where he resided the remainder of his short life.
Joachim von Sandrart remarked (1675) that Valentin reached Rome before Simon Vouet (1590-1649), who arrived around 1614.
