His training as a sculptor began at La Llotja, the Barcelona School of Fine Arts, as a student of Agapit Vallmitjana, and, like so many other artists, he obtained a grant to further his education in other cities, in this case elsewhere in Spain. Shortly after his return he held an exhibition at the famous Sala Parés in Barcelona (Petritxol, 5) and in 1893 he joined the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc (Artistic Circle of Saint Luke), which had just been set up.

His production centred on sculpture applied to architecture in an entirely Modernista style, although with more traditional forms on buildings in the Historicist style of architecture. He also made many religious sculptures to meet the demand from his bourgeois clientele.

Between 1898 and 1902 he joined forces with the sculptor Joan Pujol, with whom he founded Barnadas i Pujol, which advertised itself as a workshop specialising in decoration and statues. He worked with architects of very different styles, such as E. Sagnier, J. Domènech i Estapà, J. Puig i Cadafalch and J. Martorell. You can see examples of his work on the former Casa Figueras (1902; Rambla, 83; now the Escribà cake shop), where he made the figure of the Puríssima (Virgin), and also on the Palau de Justícia (Courthouse) of Barcelona (1887-1908; Passeig de Lluís Companys, 14), for which he made the figures of the jurists on the pediment.

He also did occasional works in wrought iron. From 1904 onwards he devoted himself less to sculpture, as he entered the field of wine-growing, where he became an active promoter of Catalan products.