Nine essays that delve into the theme of artistic techniques and applied arts, having, as a common thread, the idea that the history of art – as Gombrich had already underlined – can also be interpreted as a series of technical progress. From Caravaggio, to whom some unpublished works are attributed through analyses that reveal his techniques, to artificial intelligence, understood as a means to create works of art, passing through the dual concept of executive and representative techniques, that of the aura for design objects, optical devices such as the kaleidoscope, the parallel between fabrics and wooden sculpture, between this and marble and, finally, an investigation into often neglected objects such as European and Oriental weapons. A journey through stimulating innovations read through an interdisciplinary methodological approach.