Raphael

About Raphael

Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, 1483–1520) stands as one of the paramount masters of the High Renaissance, earning him the #81 rank in overall historical importance according to MIT's Pantheon project. An Italian painter and architect, his work is celebrated for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and fulfillment of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. His key contributions include the monumental fresco cycles in the Vatican's Stanze della Segnatura, such as The School of Athens, which encapsulates the spirit of Renaissance humanism and the synthesis of classical and Christian thought.

Despite his foundational status, Raphael’s modern internet attention suggests a partial eclipse by later artists. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accrued 741K annualized views, resulting in an Attention Gap of approximately 1x-meaning his attention is relatively proportional to his importance, but stands in sharp contrast to contemporary figures in his own field. For instance, Salvador Dalí, ranked #110 in importance (slightly less significant historically), commanded twice the attention with 1.4M views, highlighting a divergence in digital focus within the visual arts.

Looking at recent trends, Raphael's 2025 engagement showed minor fragility, with a -5.4% year-over-year decline in views, though his 2025 Momentum from Q1 to Q3 was positive at +5%, suggesting a slight underlying stability or seasonal recovery.