Enrique Serra began his training at the La Lonja School in Barcelona, where he was a disciple of Ramón Martí Alsina and Domingo Talarn. In 1879 he travelled to Rome to further his studies, thanks to a scholarship granted by the Masriera brothers, the Torruella silversmiths and the Marquis of Castellvell. When he settled permanently in the Italian capital, his works were very well received, and he received commissions from such prominent figures as Pope Leo XIII, who entrusted him with the execution of his portrait, as well as of a Virgin to be reproduced in mosaic and given to the monastery of Ripoll, then undergoing restoration (1871).

He was a member of the Círculo Internacional and a member of the Academia Chigi, and became ...