Hôtel de Pompadour, 18th-century private mansion in Fontainebleau, France

The Hôtel de Pompadour, also called the Ermitage de Pompadour, stands at 3 boulevard Magenta in Fontainebleau. Its entrance is a pale blue double-leaf door in a stone archway, each leaf with three recessed panels, scroll carving and a ring handle, under an oval medallion inscribed "HÔTEL DE POMPADOUR". Behind a dark metal fence, the white stone mansion shows a two-storey wing with rusticated ground floor and shuttered windows, and a rounded carved pediment to the right.

The mansion was built in 1749 as a residence for a prominent figure in French aristocracy. Following changes later that century, it subsequently served as a residence for governors of the nearby royal castle.

The name Ermitage refers to a small retreat rather than a religious hermitage. Louis XV had a gap opened opposite the gate on boulevard Magenta so he could walk from the château to visit Madame de Pompadour. From 1923 Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles received Balthus, Man Ray, André Gide, Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau here.

The mansion at 3 boulevard Magenta is a private residence and cannot be visited; only the exterior is visible from the street. The monumental portal with its carved medallion and the white stone facade behind the fence can be seen from the pavement. A gap cut opposite the portal once let the king walk from the château to visit his mistress.

The building was completed in just nine months, which was remarkably fast for a project of this scale. This speed likely reflects the priority and resources that were devoted to its construction.