(b Ubeda, Jaén, 26 March 1804; d 4 Nov 1844). Spanish painter. He began his apprenticeship in Ubeda and, at an early age, he went to Madrid, where he studied with José Aparicio Inglada. As he had been a national conscript, Elbo’s work was not recognized by Fernando VII, but both the Duque de Osuna and the English ambassador became his patrons. Elbo was elected an Académico de mérito of the Real Academia de S Fernando, Madrid, to which he bequeathed his finest work, Madrid Bull-ring on the Day of a Bull-fight (in situ). Despite frequent claims, his costumbrista paintings of everyday life make no references to Goya’s work, and their highly detailed finish makes them appear cold (a quality possibly resulting from Elbo’s training under the Neo-classical Aparicio Inglada) and lacking in that warmth that characterizes Spanish Romanticism. Elbo was nevertheless an excellent draughtsman, as is seen in his collaboration with Aparicio Inglada on Madrid Scenes and Panorama. Two of Elbo’s most important late paintings are a Roadside Inn and Bulls in the Field (both 1843; Madrid, Mus. Romántico).