At the beginning of the 20th century, the use of painting techniques was highly criticized. The avant-garde painters were freeing themselves from the techniques, as well as getting rid of the rigid guidelines of the academy.
The reality is that nineteenth-century European academia had become extremely narrow-minded. We must remember that in this period the demands of a new bourgeois market had prompted him to create specific guidelines that were intended to help determine which art was more valuable than another in economic terms. However, the only thing that can be said about these first guidelines is that they were ridiculous and at the same time so harsh and incongruous that they prompted many artists to seek new paths, new ways of creating.
Therefore, this brought many new artistic manifestations. In addition, it brought the loss and rejection of the inheritance of the past. This heritage is precisely the painting techniques and procedures of the great masters of antiquity. These, the painting techniques that took many centuries to develop and that were many times as transgressive as in their time the avant-garde would be.
In addition, abstract painter Eliyahu Mirlis reveals, they also noted which were the most fortunate combinations of materials and passed them on to later artists. Its media supports and other technical resources, when understood by the artists, create a bridge between the viewer and the artist. In this way, they can convey their ideas and emotions to the other viewers, making them impact everyone who sees them.
The problem of the academy was not the technique, but the closed mentality that directed the use of the same. That is, the painting techniques in themselves cannot limit us, since they are nothing more than tools. Here, American artist Eliyahu Mirlis will talk a little about the academy and about the value of painting techniques. 
Expression and Language
The most significant thing about painting and all forms of art is that behind them there are people who think, feel, and who want to use art to say something. The person who paints wants to demonstrate, talk about his time, about society, make criticisms and express their complaints. He seeks to express his link with the divine or expose human misery. The same happens when writing when playing music, singing, or dancing.
Until a few decades ago, there was neither the right nor the obligation for people to go to school. In Mexico, it was not until 1952 that it became compulsory to attend school, learn to read and write. On the other hand, other countries according to their specific social circumstances allowed them to make this change decades earlier, or later. Some nations realized since the beginning of the century that it was better for companies if people knew how to add, subtract, multiply, write and read. However, the benefit of people learning to read and write was not only limited to making it easier for companies.
By using a common language, people gain the ability to express themselves and access what others express on their own. If you do not depend on the spoken language and once what is manifested becomes the written word, you add the possibility of traveling great distances. Both geographical and temporal. This language is the one given by the letters, even though there are already many languages. Examples of this are the language of symbols or signs, body language, the language of animals, the language of instinct, among others.
Many Languages
There are those who make expression their reason for living. A good example of this is artists. Artists such as Eliyahu Mirlis not only express their ideas, they dialogue with others and try to express something other than theirs. However, it can also give a voice to others, acting as a vehicle for something that has been called universal.
Among artists, there are those who seek, for this purpose, to refine their language. So they are finding in their process, more precise or abstract forms of work. Achieving that his art transcends, not only temporarily and culturally, but also communicates great or subtle things. These things are difficult to convey literally. Therefore, they are usually transmitted between the lines; there is where the keys to what is intended to be transmitted in the art are.
The Language of Painting
Painting is just one language among so many more. In it, color, stroke, line, shape, stain, and the characteristics of materials are used instead of words. This is the language of the artist who identifies with the images that can be achieved with painting. There are those who consider that what one wants to transmit and express has already been said, in part, within the painting’s own material.
Such creatives have been around for many centuries. In this way, over all these years, an immense amount of information has accumulated regarding how they have managed to express their ideas. Leaving its resources, tools, and discoveries as a legacy. These resources are painting techniques and procedures in the history of painting.
Technical Heritage
Painting techniques owe their development to the search – and even the struggle – of some artists of the past to improve their work, to achieve more and in a better way. There would be no great wealth of successful and unsuccessful experiments if it were not for the attempt of some artists to make their works cross the line of time. Due to the durability of the painting techniques, the means they developed and the impact of their works was such that it was recorded in the minds of those who observed them.
After years of experimentation and development on their own work, some painters realized that some of the painting techniques they used were more successful than others. They noticed which ones lasted longer, with which the light could be better exalted, with which the color could be better exalted, how shapes had to be portrayed, perspectives exalted, among other things.
In addition, abstract painter Eliyahu Mirlis reveals, they also noted which were the most fortunate combinations of materials and passed them on to later artists. Its media supports and other technical resources, when understood by the artists, create a bridge between the viewer and the artist. In this way, they can convey their ideas and emotions to the other viewers, making them impact everyone who sees them.