Antoni Solà was one of Europe's greatest Neoclassical sculptors. Born in Barcelona, he studied at the School of Fine Arts. In 1803 he left for Rome on a grant from the Commerce Council of Catalonia, his school's founding institution.

In Rome, he became president of the Academy of San Luca, the highest artistic authority at the time. In the entire 19th century, only two foreigners held this title-Solà and Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen. There, he would also become head of the Catalonian and Spanish scholars, while simultaneously creating numerous works for Spanish and Italian nobility, including Prince Torlonia and Fernando VII, the King of Spain.

This grouping, signed and dated in Rome in 1839, was acquired in 2009 at auction. It was probably made for a family in Madrid, as it seems to have come from this city. It shows two children playing with a butterfly, although a close look at their absent, lifeless eyes, leads us to think this may be a portrait in memory of deceased children. This idea is supported by the fact that the classical representation of a butterfly signifies death carrying away the souls of the living.

The quality of the composition confirms the sculptor's well-deserved fame. The artist consistently held that ideal beauty should be sought by imitating works from antiquity. This is one of the most notable works in the Museum's collection of 19th century sculpture. The gesso relief with which Solà won his grant for Rome has also been conserved. It is dedicated to the mythological theme of Aeneas and the Cumaean Sybil visiting the River Styx.