Born in Prague, Šetlík was the son of the founder of the pharmaceutical company Spojené farmaceutické závody [cs] Ivan Šetlík, a political dissident who was condemned to two and a half years in prison for espionage in a show trial.

[2] After serving three years of military service in the army auxiliary battalions (PTP) as an "enlightenment officer", he got a doctorate in History and Theory of Art at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

[2] Following the Velvet Revolution, Šetlík held several important positions, notably as a lecturer and vice-rector of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (1993–1996) and head of the Department of Art History at the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Liberec (1996–2000), and reprised an intense writing activity.

[2] He was also a member of the Czech PEN Club, and the chairman of the Jindřich Chalupecký Society between 1994 and 2005.

[2] Married to actress Zuzana Talpová until her death in 2005, Šetlík died on 28 January 2023, at the age of 93.