Image:Grunwald bitwa.jpg

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The Battle of Grunwald (or Battle of Tannenberg) took place on July 15, 1410 between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on one side (estimated 39,000 troops), and the Teutonic Knights on the other (about 27,000 troops).

In the battle, the Teutonic Order was defeated and never recovered its former influence.

The picture supposedly illustrates the moment when Ulrich von Jungingen, the 26th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (left, dressed in white, with a black cross), is killed by infantry. Vytautas the Great is shown in triumphant position (center, dressed in red).

[edit] The painting

Jan Matejko, the author of the painting "The Battle of Grunwald", was born on June 24, 1838 in Cracow.

"The Battle of Grunwald" is a vast painting. Its impressive size (4,26x9,87 m) alone proves it being a major undertaking by the painter. For several years, "The Battle of Grunwald" was taken for display in almost half of the European countries and brought its author an international acclaim in monumental painting.

The painting portrays one of the biggest battles of the Middle Ages in Europe. It took place on July 15, 1410 on the field between the villages of Grunwald (Grunfeld in German), Stębark (Tannenberg in German) and Łodwigowo (Ludwigsdorf in German), 90 km from Marienburg (Malbork). The united Polish-Lithuanian army fought against the forces of the Teutonic Order. The Order's force, under command by the Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen, was inflicted a defeat and fled. Victorious came the coalition army reinforced by the Russian, Czech and Tartarian units, all of them led by the senior commander king Władysław II Jagiełło. The painter captured the decisive moment of the battle, which was the death of the Grand Master.

Matejko based his composition on the description of the battle by Marcin Bielski (1495-1575) in his "Kronika wszystkiego swiata". His primary source, however, was Jan Dlugosz, (1415-1480) with his account of the battle in "Annales". Matejko also used the information from "Banderia Prutenorum" by the same author, a study of the colors seized on the battlefield from different units of the Order and its allies. In 1872 the painter was ready with a complete oil sketch (its size was 1,38 X 7, 38 m), in 1875 he started working on the final version of the painting. After two years of work he took a trip via Marienburg to the actual location of the battle. It was important for him to see the actual terrain of the battlefield; upon returning he made many alterations in the landscape. The final stage of the work took place in the Town Hall of Krakow, where the painting was hung on the wall. It was only then when the artist could have a full view of the battle scene and relate its elements into a coherent whole.

The idea of the painting rests on two central figures: Ulrich von Jungingen who is fighting back two attacking soldiers and Vytautas the Great galloping on his horse. The Grand Master's countenance is a look of hopelessness in the face of death; the Lithuanian duke is radiant with combat zeal. The figure of Vytautas is slightly lifted above the fighting crowd and turns into a token of martial success.

All the power of the Polish-Lithuanian force in this engagement with the Order seems to be concentrated in the heroic image of the Grand Duke. The pathos of Vytautas is opposed by the tragedy of the Grand Master. This contrast multiplies emotional effect of the painting, as does the strength with which two simple soldiers attack the Grand Master. These two soldiers are not only a formal element of the composition, - they are a part of historical-philosophical concept inherent in the painting. The two privates represent brave and decisive nature of the Polish and Lithuanians. They also signify the unity of the two nations. The fighting crowd in the background strikes by its variety of type and most diverse emotional reactions. Though the cruel struggle is depicted in a realistic fashion, its members emerge as noble fighters inspired by the complete awareness of their righteous cause. Anonymous soldiers are conceived as heroes of the history.

In its dynamism and expressiveness "The Battle of Grunwald" surpasses the rest of Matejko's work. It is the most powerful vision of the historic battle decisive for the nations who fought it. It has been left to us by the European painting of the nineteenth century.

[edit] References

Original article

English: Battle of Grunwald by Jan Matejko

Polski: Bitwa pod Grunwaldem pędzla Jana Matejki

Русский: Битва при Грюнвальде работы Яна Матейко

The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain worldwide due to the date of death of its author (if it is was published outside of the U.S. and the author has been dead for over 70 years), or due to its date of publication (if it was first made public in the U.S. before 1923). Therefore this photographical reproduction is also in the public domain, at least in the United States (see Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.), in Germany, and in many other countries. To uploader: Please provide necessary copyright information about the artwork itself.