Spanish sculptor. He was the most important Spanish sculptor working in the Neoclassical style, though his work eventually took him to Italy. He began his studies at the Academia de La Lonja in Barcelona. He received a grant from the Junta de Comercio there to continue his studies in Rome, and from there he sent back work to the Junta including his study for the Dying Gladiator (untraced). During the Napoleonic period Sola was imprisoned in Rome for refusing to recognize Joseph Bonaparte as Spain's monarch. After the Peninsular War he received a grant in compensation of 3000 reales from Ferdinand VII (restored to the throne in 1814). In March 1828 the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de S Fernando in Madrid made Sola director of the Spanish artists holding grants in Rome. His responsibilities included caring for the welfare of the artists and ensuring that they fulfilled their obligations. He filled this post until he retired in 1856 due to poor health. Sola was a member of the Real Accademia of Florence and of the Accademia di S Luca in Rome, of which he was also Director for three years. In Spain he was made Escultor de Cámera Honorario in 1846, the year of the marriage of Isabella II and Francis de Asis de Borbón. //