Manuel Salvador Carmona was born to Pedro Salvador Carmona and María García Gómez on May 10, 1734 in Nava del Rey, Spain (Valladolid). He was trained as an artist at the Academy of San Fernando and also in the workshop of his uncle, the sculptor Luis Salvador de Carmona (1709-1767).

In 1752 he moved to Paris to study etching and engraving, and had the opportunity to study under the direction of Nicolas-Gabriel Dupuis (1698-1771) at the Academy of fine arts in Paris, where he excelled, and in 1761 was named engraver of the King of France. At this time he met Margarita Legrand in Paris and they were married shortly after.

On his return to Spain in 1763, he devoted himself to restoring printmaking arts to his nation. He encouraged Spanish printmakers to develop their own sources and style in engraving and etching, papermaking and composition and rejecting European influences. These efforts earned him membership in the Academia de San Fernando on January 20, 1764. His work was exhibited in Toulouse, Rome, San Luis de San Carlos de Valencia and Zaragoza.

After the death of his first wife, he remarried in 1768. Ana María Mengs, was the eldest daughter of Anton Raphael Mengs a Bohemian born painter, with whom he developed a great friendship. This friendship led him to Rome, where he met painter José Nicolas de Azara. His last years were spent in poverty, though he had a small income from creating tourist guide covers for the government. He died as a result of an accident in Madrid, Spain on October 15, 1820.