Leonardo da Vinci

About Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci, ranked #11 in historical importance by the MIT Pantheon project, remains one of history’s most potent polymaths. Active primarily during the Italian High Renaissance (1452–1519), his influence spans art, science, and engineering. While universally recognized for masterpieces like the *Mona Lisa* and *The Last Supper*, his notebooks reveal visionary concepts for flying machines, anatomical studies far ahead of their time, and military engineering, cementing his status as a quintessential Renaissance inventor.

Despite his towering historical significance, his contemporary internet attention, measured by 2.9 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025, suggests a mild relative gap. Crucially, he demonstrates a significant **+2x overattention** relative to his historical importance rank, meaning he is *more* recognized online than his #11 HPI rank might suggest, unlike figures like Gautama Buddha (#2 importance, but far fewer views). However, even this robust attention is not without fluctuation, as his 2025 view count has seen a noticeable year-over-year decline of -20.6%, alongside a negative momentum of -17% between Q1 and Q3 of this year.