Caravaggio was an irascible man given to violent reactions when things weren't going his way and he got involved in brawling on many occasions. The man he allegedly murdered was a gangster, and the circumstances of the killing remain murky. I somehow don't see this in quite the same way as a lifelong predilection to race hate (Wagner) or paedophilia (the several people referred to in this thread). The Italian renaissance composer Gesualdo caught his wife and her lover in flagrante delicto and killed them both whilst they were still in bed. He even went back in to make sure he'd finished the job. The authorities, having inspected the gruesome scene and having considered that Gesualdo had been provoked, found that no crime had been committed (!). He wrote some great music but, as I'm not a massive fan of the music of that era, I thankfully don't have to make a choice...But I do love Caravaggio's paintings...