This post is one of a series of blog posts covering my independent research on previously unidentified locations depicted in John Singer Sargent pieces. Pieces are identified using their Yale University Press ID numbers, as published in the series John Singer Sargent: The Complete Paintings, co-authored by Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray. All findings are my own, represent my own opinions, and were reached using a combination of my own intuition & various publicly available tools, such as Google Maps & Google Street View.

This post covers the location depicted in John Singer Sargent’s piece titled “Majorca” (Yale 1478), a beautiful watercolor depicting a rugged coastline hugging a sea & sky of blue.

Here is the piece in question:

I do believe No. 1478 "Majorca" is correctly identified as a Mallorca painting in the catalogue raisonné; however, I believe the exact location is much further northeast from Deià - that is, the northeasternmost location pinpointed on the map of Sargent's painting locations in Mallorca ("Sargent and Spain", pp.10-11). I believe this painting was created at, or very near, to Castell del Rei, in the much more remote municipality of Pollença. Below is a visual summary of my findings:

I have never travelled to Mallorca, let alone Castell del Rei, so I had to use my understanding of topography to guide me towards the correct location. There is quite obviously a cliff-like feature at the center background of the painting that dives directly into the ocean, in the middle of what looks like a large curvature in the coastline (not quite a bay), with a rugged peninsula jutting out in the background. I was unable to find any features further west near Valldemossa or Deià that match, but I came across this exact arrangement at Castell del Rei, further east.

As soon as I rotated the view in Google Maps (with 3D terrain on), the image of Sargent's composition popped out, clear as day. I highlighted the mountain skyline comparison (lower left of my compilation image above), where the features (and even the lighting!), are a very solid match! Was it known that Sargent might have travelled this far east, to this relatively remote location? Anyway, I discovered it is quite the scenic area, so I'm not surprised.

Date of identification: c. 4/21/2026, reported to the authors on 4/25/2026