Caravaggio

About Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) was a towering figure of the Baroque era, fundamentally altering the course of Western painting through his dramatic use of *tenebrism*—intense contrasts between light and dark. His unflinching naturalism, often depicting religious figures with the raw appearance of common people, broke sharply with preceding idealized styles. This revolutionary approach solidified his standing as an immensely influential artist, earning him the Historical Popularity Index rank of #223 globally.

In the contemporary digital landscape, Caravaggio receives an estimated 920K annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This level of attention translates to an Attention Gap of approximately 1x, suggesting his modern online visibility is broadly commensurate with his significant historical ranking. However, this view count pales in comparison to figures with much lower historical importance, such as Robert De Niro (#562 importance) who garners 5.7M views, highlighting the ongoing struggle for classical artists to maintain visibility against modern celebrity culture.

Interestingly, while his overall interest is stable, Caravaggio's popularity experienced a minor decline year-over-year of -19.2%, though his recent momentum in 2025 suggests a slight stabilization in Q1 versus Q3 (+2%).