[1] Despite being commissioned by the East German government to commemorate the Battle of Frankenhausen, fought on 15 May 1525 during the German Peasants' War, the painting is not a typical battle painting, nor in the style of socialist realism prevalent at the time.

Instead, Werner Tübke created an immense allegory of Renaissance society with more than 3000 characters, containing strong fantastical and surreal elements.

The artist named German Renaissance painters Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach the Elder as his most important influences; his style is sometimes also considered as magical realism.

[1] The canvas was woven in one piece at the textile factory in Sursk, the Soviet Union, and weighs 1.1 tons.

[2] The museum opened to the public on 14 September 1989, in time for the 500th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Müntzer.