Emeric Essex Vidal

Emeric Essex Vidal (1791–1861) was an English marine, and amateur painter of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. His most important works include Cabildo de Buenos Aires, La lglesia de Santo Domingo, Matadero sur, and El Fuerte y la playa baja (his first watercolor).

Emeric Essex Vidal was born in Brentford, Middlesex, England, the son of a family of Marines. He enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1816, and arrived at Rio de la Plata in September the same year, aboard the British schooner "Hyacinth". Remained in the city until 1818, a year before the Plaza de Toros was closed. Vidal made a second trip to the Argentina, settling in the country between 1826 and 1829. His works were published in London in 1820 under the title Picturesque illustrations of Buenos Ayres and Montevideo.