Clotilde au tombeau de ses petits-enfants

This painting depicts Clotilde, wife of Clovis and Queen of the Franks, mourning at the tomb of her grandchildren. After Clovis’s death, the kingdom was divided among his sons, leading to violent rivalries within the Merovingian dynasty. The scene illustrates the family tragedies resulting from these power struggles, as well as Clotilde’s deep piety after becoming a widow. It symbolizes both the fragility of family ties and the brutality of succession in the early Middle Ages.