His father Vít Václav Kaňka was a builder who built the fortifications of New Town of Prague.

[1][2] After his return from abroad, he collaborated with leading architects of his time such as Giovanni Battista Alliprandi and Jan Santini Aichel.

In contrast to other architects, such as Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, he focused mainly on designing buildings and not on their construction.

[2] In the course of his career, Kaňka worked on castles, palaces and churches, and became especially noteworthy for his reconstructions, redesigns and expansions of existing buildings throughout Bohemia.

[2] He is most famous for reconstructions of palaces and castles of Bohemian nobles and for designs of churches and other religious buildings, principally in the Baroque style.