They flock to see his artwork, why? Because it's famous, of course! Why is it famous? Well, that's a much more interesting and complicated question. Most people only know of two of his works and couldn't say why they're any better than 100 other old world portrait paintings, and wouldn't care, anyway. Because the truth is that Leonardo is now and has long been famous for being famous. He no doubt had an interesting and unique mind, but so do the vast majority of artists, then and now. He obviously had great rendering skills, but again, so do most artists, then and now. He was an enigmatic and eccentric 'character', but again, so are most artists. So why, really, is he so famous?
I think it's because most humans really want to believe that his kind of willful independence and creative courage are rare and exceptional traits in humans. So that we don't have to consider why we do not seek or exhibit them in ourselves. I have nothing against Leonardo, I would love to have met him. But there are lots of Leonardo's in the world that the world is intent on ignoring and even dismissing as pointless, useless, and foolish. And flocking to see the "famous" Mona Lisa painting by the exceptional, one-of-a-kind, blessed by God, never to be repeated Leonardo de Vinci plays right into that agenda.
