He then went to study art in Venice at the studio of the painting master Antonio Zanchi, and then at the school of Giuseppe Henz d'Augusta (Joseph Heintz the Younger), an elderly genre painter.

When Henz died, Trevisani moved to Rome. He was 21 and remained in Rome until his death at age 90. Not long after his arrival, he was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke. He studied the work of Carraci, was inspired by Correggio and spent time in the company of the leading painter in Rome of the 17th century, Carlo Maratta (1625-1713) and his followers. There he obtained great success as a painter of altar pieces executed for numerous Roman churches, including S. Silvestro in Capite (1697), S. Maria in Aracoeli (1729). 

Between 1721 and 1727, he also received commissions in Turin. For the House of Savoy, Trevisani painted a Madonna Immacolata, adored by San Luigi and the Beato Amedeo of Savoy. It was hung in the Chapel of Sant'Uberto at Venaria Reale. King Vittorio Amedeo II liked the painting so much that, beyond the agreed price he gave Trevisani a "country" silver set. The Saint Philip monks commissioned him for a Martirio of San Sebastiano painting, which today still hangs in the Church of San Filippo in Turin. He was also asked to paint for Palazzo Barolo, then the Provana di Druent, for whom he painted a decoration dedicated to the four seasons.

Trevisani became the greatest Roman painter of his generation. His altar pieces and cabinets painting depicted biblical and mythological themes in a style that varies between the classicism of Maratti and the softer, sweeter manner of the Barocchetto, and were rather sentimental in their tones. However, he is admired for his competent precise portraits, both of noble Italian patrons and visiting Grand Tourists which are distinguished by their unusual informality and the sense of intimacy between the artist and subject. He is also admired for  his vast landscape scenes showing historic and mythological events, including Betsabea al bagno (Pommersfelden, Coll, Schonborn) and Banchetto di Cesare e Cleopatra (Rome, Gall.Spada), imitating the Venetian rococo style. 

The students of Trevisani included Claudio Francesco Beaumont, Carlo Innocenzo Carlone (1685-1775), Andrea Casali, Placido Costanzi, Giorgio Domenico Duprà, Gregorio Guglielmi, Girolamo Pesci, Pietro Antonio Rotari, Bartolomeo Nazari (Clusone, 1693 - Milano, 1758), and Francisco Vieira Lusitano. Among his friends was baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) who owned at least two of Trevisani's paintings. Trevisani was himself a poet of some note.

Francesco Trevisani died in Rome on July 30, 1746.