Schlesinger was born in Frankfurt am Main and received training in arts at the Academy in Vienna. He was active as portrait and genre painter in Vienna and Paris, in 1870/71 he lived in London.

Besides genre depiction of rural life and oriental motifs, which were particularly popular in the 19th century, Schlesinger is known for his depictions of life at the royal court. With great airiness he manages to render account of the formal life, for example by adding small winking anecdotes to his depictions....