It is one of Matejko's most recognizable works, and has likely contributed to the popular image of the battle of Grunwald, and its enduring fame in Polish and Lithuanian consciousness.

[1] Together with Prussian Homage, it was one of the two artworks that topped the "most wanted" paintings list made by the Nazis, who engaged in a systematic action of physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture.

[1][3][4] Goebbels offered a bounty of 10 million marks for it, and several members of the Polish Underground were executed by the Germans when they refused to divulge its location despite interrogation and torture.

[2] In 1999 the Battle of Grunwald was loaned to Lithuania, where it garnered a positive reception because it prominently features Vytautas, who is considered a national hero in that country.

Vytautas holds a more prominent position in the painting than his cousin, Polish king Władysław Jagiełło (Jogaila), who is visible in the second plan, mounted, in the top right side.

[7] According to Scales and Zimmer, by focusing on Vytautas rather than Jagiełło, Matejko stressed the importance of Lithuania for Poland, and the value of cooperation between the two countries in the Polish–Lithuanian union.

[7] Others have noted that this placement likely was influenced by Matejko's reliance on the writings of Jan Długosz, who attributed greater importance to Vytautas than to Jagiełło, who, by some Polish sources, commanded the battle.

[2][3] While Lithuanian sources claim that Vytautas The Great have got the very major role in the battle by actually commanding troops and performing the decisive feigned retreat manoeuvre.

[3] Other notable figures depicted in the painting include: Matejko combined three key parts of the battle into one tableau: an opportunistic attack by German knight Kökeritz on Jagiełło, the death of the Grand Master, and the taking of the Teutonic camp (in the top left corner).