The western end of Richelieu's second floor is given over to a relatively selective collection of German, Flemish and Dutch paintings, though the seventeenth century Dutch suite is strong, with no less than twelve paintings by Rembrandt – look out for Bathsheba and The Supper at Emmaus – and two serene canvases from Vermeer, The Astronomer and The Lacemaker. A brilliant set of works by Rubens can be found in the Médicis gallery (room 18), a whole room dedicated to the glory of Queen Marie de Médicis as commissioned by herself. The swirling colours and swaths of flapping cloth were to influence French painters from Fragonard to Delacroix.
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