At the age of 12 Desportes was sent by his father to Paris, where he worked and studied in the studio of Nicasius Bernaerts, an artist who taught him to observe nature carefully. Desportes executed small decorative works for other artists, and he enjoyed considerable success at portraiture. Desportes was invited by King John III Sobieski to the court of Poland (1695–96), where he painted a number of portraits of members of the royal family.

When he returned to France, Desportes decided that he could not compete successfully as a portrait painter and began to paint chase and hunt scenes, studies of dogs, and still-life pictures of flowers and fruit. In 1699 he was admitted to the French Royal Academy, and he succeeded in winning the favour of Louis XIV. Desportes became a recorder of royal hunts, and many of his works show the king's favourite dogs. He also worked on decorations for several of the royal châteaus. In 1712 he went to London, where he was much in vogue. Returning to France six months later, he continued to work for the regency and received many commissions under Louis XV. One of his largest projects was the tapestry series “Indies” (1687–1730). In 1735 he was ordered to redo the work, retaining the subject but changing the composition. This appeared as “New Indies.”