Baroque and Rococo

Overview

This 60-minute lesson is designed for Year 12 Visual Arts students at a private Christian school, focusing on Baroque and Rococo art periods within the framework of the NSW Visual Arts Curriculum. The lesson integrates skill development in critical analysis, art history contextual understanding, and personal expression. It aligns with the NSW syllabus requirements by supporting students’ ability to critically analyse artworks, investigating cultural and historical influences, and producing reflective responses their own visual arts practice.

---

Curriculum Links (NSW Visual Arts Stage 6)

• Outcome: Visual Arts Stage 6, A1: Analyse and interpret artworks and practices demonstrating understanding of how artists communicate ideas, beliefs and values through visual language.
• Students investigate and analyse historical and contemporary conventions, materials, and subject matter in artworks.
• Students critically evaluate the social, cultural and historical contexts of artworks from different times and places.

Reference focus:
NSW Visual Arts Syllabus – Stage 6 (Year 11-12) - focus on critical and historical study of art periods, personal responses, and development of analytical skills integrated with practical art creation.

---

Learning Intentions (WALT)

• WALT: Understand the key characteristics and historical contexts of Baroque and Rococo art styles.
• WALT: Analyse the visual language and symbolism in selected Baroque and Rococo artworks.
• WALT: Reflect on and articulate how these styles convey religious and cultural values, considering the Christian worldview emphasized in the school community.

---

Success Criteria

Students will be able to:

• Identify and describe defining features of Baroque and Rococo art including use of colour, form, light, and thematic content.
• Analyse how Baroque and Rococo art express religious narratives and cultural ideals.
• Reflect thoughtfully on how these artworks relate to Christian values and worldview.
• Demonstrate the ability to construct an informed, critical discussion about artworks.
• Engage creatively with extension activities by exploring syncretic or contrasting styles.

---

Lesson Plan

Time	Activity Description	Purpose & Differentiation Strategies
0-5m	Introduction and Context Setting Brief overview of Baroque (~1600-1750) and Rococo (~1700-1770) periods in art history. Position within historical hooks: post-Renaissance, Counter-Reformation, European aristocracy, and Christian themes.	Scaffold background for all learners with visual timeline and key terms glossary.
5-20m	Visual Analysis and Discussion Show curated selection of 3 artworks per style (e.g. Caravaggio, Bernini for Baroque; Fragonard, Watteau for Rococo). Students analyse light, colour, composition, and symbolic meaning in pairs, then group share. Focus on religious iconography for Baroque.	Use of paired discussion supports shy/ESL students. Visual aids for comprehension. Prompt sheets provided.
20-35m	Christian Worldview Reflection Guided class discussion: How do Baroque artworks express Christian beliefs (e.g. divine drama, redemption, emotion)? Contrast with Rococo’s more secular, ornate, playful themes. Students write a short reflective paragraph linking artwork themes to Christian perspectives and values.	Encourage vocabulary development, provide sentence starters for writing. Challenge advanced learners to critique symbolism and cultural implications deeper.
35-50m	Creative Extension Activity (Independent or Small Group) Students create a small digital collage or sketch combining Baroque and Rococo elements with a Christian theme of their choice, e.g., sacrifice, grace, joy. This encourages synthesis of ideas and personal artistic expression.	Differentiation: Students can choose media (digital, sketching). Advanced students may write an artist’s statement outlining their concept. Support offered through templates and guided prompts.
50-55m	Gallery Walk & Peer Feedback Display artworks and reflections. Students provide constructive feedback using criteria focused on understanding of styles, symbolism, and connection to Christian worldview.	Promotes verbal skills and peer learning, suits kinaesthetic learners. Structured feedback cards scaffold responses.
55-60m	Summary & Exit Ticket Quick quiz or written exit ticket: List two features of Baroque art and one way Rococo differs in theme. State one insight about the Christian influence in Baroque art.	Allows for quick assessment of learning (formative).

---

Differentiation Strategies

• For diverse learners:

  • Use visual glossaries and sentence starters to support language development.
  • Pair/group work to scaffold understanding and promote peer learning.
  • Multimodal presentation of content (images, text, oral) to cater for different learning styles.
  • Allow creative freedom in the extension task, with options of digital or traditional media.

• For advanced learners:

  • Encourage deeper art historical analysis and critique of cultural and religious symbolism.
  • Optional artist’s statement writing for the extension task.
  • Challenge students to compare and contrast European artistic narratives with Aboriginal or non-Western spiritual art briefly, fostering broader cultural critical thinking.

---

Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation during paired discussions and gallery walk feedback.
• Reflective paragraph assessed for clarity, depth, and connection to Christian worldview themes.
• Exit ticket responses provide insight into immediate understanding of key concepts.

---

Resources Needed

• Projector or interactive whiteboard for displaying artworks.
• Printed or digital glossary of key terms (chiaroscuro, tenebrism, ornamentation).
• Art materials or digital collage tool access (tablets/computers).
• Handouts with artwork images and guided questions.

---

This lesson plan balances critical historical/artistic understanding with spiritual reflection consistent with the Christian ethos of the school, fully aligned with Year 12 Visual Arts syllabus demands in NSW, supporting personalised learning, critical thinking and expressive capacity. It 'wows' by integrating faith perspectives with classical art study and offers creative and reflective depths tailored to advanced and diverse learners.