He travelled to and stayed in Paris from 1878 to 1880, where he gleaned inspiration from the late-nineteenth-century Parisian art scene before continuing his studies at the academy in Munich under Czech painter Gabriel von Max.

[4] Max's teaching allowed Schikaneder to explore deeper spiritual themes and examine the social contradictions in Czech art and culture of the time.

[1] Schikaneder first attempted to publicly exhibit his work in 1879 at the Zofin salon, where he applied concepts of genre painting rather than the classic form taught by the Academy of Fine Arts.

[5] Co-working with Emanuel Krescenc Liška, the two artists’ proposal for the decoration of the Royal Box was accepted, a design that illustrated three important periods of Czech history upon a frieze.

[3] Following his work in the National Theatre, he traveled through Europe, visiting Germany, England, Scotland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and France.

[7] Other motifs favoured by Schikaneder were autumn and winter, corners and alleyways in the city of Prague and the banks of the Vltava – often in the early evening light, or cloaked in mist.

[3] In the beginning of his career, Schikaneder's work consisted of social subjects–including things like a country woman gathering wood and various death ceremonies–painted in an academic technique suitable for the realist trend of the 19th century.

[3] His work done in the 1880s combines pale and sombre colors in rural and urban settings, creating a melancholy atmosphere, as seen in pieces like Winter (1884) and On All Souls’ Day (1888).

[3] His paintings, as seen in pieces like Murder in the Block (1887-1890), gradually starts to convey a mental reaction to social reality, combining both local and foreign influences into his work.

[3] Schikander, in particular, explored themes of death, both directly and suggestingly, and began to change to pastels and charcoals to employ a more subtle and firm style.

[2] Following the end of WWI, experiencing a lightness and ease, Schikaneder paints and captures his cheerful character without anxious restrictions through different landscape and marine scene.

Inspired by teacher Garbiel von Max, Schikaneder's famous Murder in the Block (1887–90) represents an attempt to expand the political and emotional range of genre painting.

[12] Another notable landscape of Schikaneder is Early Evening at Hradčany (1909), depicting a winter dusk and the back of a lone woman leaning over the wally of a bridge.