My favorite painter! I highly recommend Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon. That and the Derek Jarman film (as referenced by others) provide valuable insight into his grandiose and self-destructive behavior, along with the patronage system that allowed him countless second chances until he managed to burn every bridge available to him. Michelangelo Merisi teaches us a great lesson on the precariousness of talent mixed with recklessness.
