This painting is considered among Matejko's most famous works and is also one of his largest canvases. It portrays an event of significant political triumph for Poland, the Prussian Homage, in which Poland was able to enforce its will over Prussia. Prussia later gained independence and turned against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, becoming one of the nations that divided Poland among them. Matejko's painting was created during the partition period, when independent Poland had ceased to exist, and like many of Matejko's other works, it aimed to remind the Polish people of their most famous historical triumphs.