In 1848, the government of Isabella II granted him a scholarship to complete his artistic training in Rome from 1848 to 1852.

[5] In the 1850s he traveled to Italy, Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Prussia, Belgium and France.

[5] Upon his return to Spain, he became an assistant drawing teacher at the Madrid Academy, until becoming full professor in 1859 and director in 1886.

[1] Montañés' work has been considered eclectic, combining elements of neoclassicism and rococo.

He was highly sought after by Aragonese society and most of his artistic output was portraits and religious paintings.