Gustave Courbet

About Gustave Courbet

Gustave Courbet (1819–1877) was a pivotal French painter renowned as a leader of the Realism movement in 19th-century art. Rejecting the idealized subjects of Neoclassicism and Romanticism, Courbet championed depicting the unvarnished truth of contemporary life, focusing on the working class and everyday scenes. This commitment to naturalism and social commentary earned him a significant position, reflected in his Historical Popularity Index (HPI) Rank of #925 among the world's most influential historical figures.

In the modern digital sphere, Courbet’s historical importance appears relatively undervalued. His Wikipedia page accrued 206K annualized views in 2025, placing his Attention Gap near 1x-meaning his online attention aligns closely with his HPI ranking. To provide contrast, this level of attention is significantly higher than that given to figures deemed historically more crucial, such as Theodora (#599 importance with only 17K views), illustrating a clear divergence in current public focus compared to historical influence for some major figures.

While his attention level is fairly matched to his importance, Courbet's 2025 interest shows a slight year-over-year decline of -1.9%. However, his short-term engagement shows positive traction, with a 2025 Momentum of +2% when comparing Q1 to Q3 traffic, suggesting his presence in online discourse is currently stabilizing.