Emeric Essex Vidal (1791–1861), United Kingdom
Landscape, 1816
Watercolor on paper
Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
Vidal honed his observational skills as a sailor. He served from 1816 to 1818 as Counter and Secretary to the Admiral of the Fleet on the HMS Hyacinth, and this watercolor depicts the Brazilian coastline presumably viewed from aboard his ship. In 1816 he was the first artist to record the ways of life and costumes of the people he encountered in Argentina. Vidal later had these works published in the book Picturesque Illustrations of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video [sic] (London, 1820).