Manuel Álvarez de la Peña was admired by his contemporaries for the effort, rigour and perfection shown in his work. He held posts of great importance such as the King's Sculptor of Honour or the Director General of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. He is considered the main precursor of the Neoclassical movement, whose ideas he spread several years before this came into being. This innovative work is structured in three parts: An extensive biography, a catalogue raisonné, various studies and a complete documentary appendix. Altogether it enables us to deepen our knowledge of his production and his teaching work, to attain a better insight into his aesthetic thinking and to broach some sociological issues concerning his clientele and prices, his way of working , his life style and critics' opinions during his lifetime and after his death.