The eminent architect Franz Osipovich Schechtel met the Chekhovs while studying at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he met the writer’s elder brother, Nikolay Chekhov. It was a difficult time for the whole family. After their father’s bankruptcy caused by his failed trading business and the construction of their own stone house in Taganrog, the Chekhovs moved to Moscow and found themselves in poverty; they had to live in very humble quarters.

Maria Pavlovna Chekhova recalled that it was Schechtel who designed the triumphal arch in his brother Nikolay’s painting “Entry of Messalina into Rome”. Аnd the third friend, Isaac Levitan, helped to paint the sky and nature in the background. Schechtel remained a loyal friend to the distressed and dying Nikolay, always rejoiced at his success, worried about his health, and tried to help with his work. Nikolay Chekhov died early, at the age of 31, of typhoid and consumption, and Schechtel confessed,

Franz quickly befriended Anton, their letters reflect a trusting and relaxed relationship between the two young and talented people. Anton Pavlovich signed his first collection of stories and essays,

In fact, Schechtel was Chekhov’s patient and often sought his advice and asked for prescriptions.