How did Caravaggio make biblical scenes appear to take place in his own time?

Caravaggio brought biblical narratives into his own time by staging them as visceral, contemporary dramas rather than idealized historical events. He achieved this through several key methods:12

• Modern Settings and Dress: He frequently depicted sacred figures in modern Roman environments—such as dingy tax offices or local churches—and dressed them in contemporary clothing rather than traditional, period-accurate attire.134
• Use of Live Models: Caravaggio painted directly from live models, often selecting individuals from the streets or his own social circle, including prostitutes and fellow artists. This approach emphasized the common humanity, poverty, and physical reality of saints and apostles, often highlighting details like ragged clothing or dirty feet to foster a sense of identification among poor pilgrims.1423
• Dramatic Realism: He utilized an intense form of chiaroscuro known as tenebrism, which used extreme light-dark contrasts to focus the viewer's attention on specific gestures or facial expressions, giving the scenes a cinematic, immediate quality.342

By grounding these holy stories in the familiar, gritty reality of 17th-century Rome, Caravaggio transformed distant religious history into an accessible, emotional experience.132