The reformer of European painting, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, became famous among his contemporaries not only for his talent, but also for his extremely complex, explosive character. Creative audacity forced him to paint his saints from beggars and street girls, and his proud disposition and intemperance forced him to constantly quarrel with the powers that be and get into dangerous scrapes. He had strong patrons, but even they could not protect Caravaggio from the revenge of arrogant aristocrats, offended saints and envious competitors. The mystery of the disappearance of a genius has worried the minds of art critics, historians and art lovers for four centuries. Matt Reese believes he has solved it.