He was born in Solsona, Lleida. Although his first apprenticeship was apparently withNavarrete, who worked for years in the Escorial, Ribalta's earliest work (a Cruxifixionof 1582) was signed in Madrid. After his years in Madrid, Ribalta was to settle as an artist in Valencia. He became among the first followers in Spain of the austeretenebrist style of Caravaggio. It is unclear if he directly visited either Rome orNaples, where Caravaggio's style had many adherents. Alternatively, it is likely that tenebrist paintings were available in Spain by the early 17th century through the Spanish rule of the Neapolitan kingdom. Jusepe de Ribera is said to have been one of his pupils, although it is entirely possible that Ribera acquired his tenebrism when he moved to Italy.

The tenebrist style gathered a number of adherents in Spain, and was to influence the pre-eminent Baroque or Golden Age Spanish painters, especially Zurbarán, but alsoVelázquez and Murillo. Even the art of still life in Spain, the bodegón, was often painted in a similar stark and austere style. Among the direct disciples of Francisco were his son, Juan Ribalta, and Vicente Castelló. Ribalta died in Valencia on 14 January 1628.