Schnetz began exhibiting at the Salon of 1808 and continued to do so on a regular basis until 1867. According to the Salon catalogue of 1810, he was a student of Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754-1829), a painter of mythological scenes. Two years later he entered the studio of David (q.v.). He also studied with Baron François Gérard (1770-1837) and Gros (q.v.), both former pupils of David. Schnetz traveled to Italy in 1817, where he remained until 1832. During this sojourn he often painted scenes representing Italian peasants, sending them periodically to the Salon. In 1819 he received a gold medal at the Salon for history painting, an achievement that would mark the beginning of his successful career. Schnetz received numerous commissions for public buildings, including St. Martin Cutting His Cloak to Give Half to a Beggar (1824) for the Tours cathedral, Charlemagne Receiving Alcuin (1833) for a ceiling at the Louvre, and The Battle at the Hôtel de Ville (1834, destroyed) for the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. Upon his return to France, Schnetz became director of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, a position he held until 1841. He also served as the director of the Académie de France in Rome from 1841 until 1847 and again from 1853 to 1866. Through his position at these institutions he was able to influence the development of academic training for many years.