Linocut is a relief printmaking technique in which a design is cut into a sheet of linoleum — removing the areas that are not to print — and the raised surface is inked and pressed against paper. The technique was developed in the early 20th century as a more accessible alternative to woodcut, since linoleum is softer and easier to carve. It was popularised as an art form by German Expressionists and later by Picasso, who developed a 'reductive' linocut method — carving and printing a single sheet in stages, beginning with the lightest colour and progressively cutting away more for each darker layer, so that the final print uses the same block at multiple stages. The Socialist Realist movements in Latin America and Africa adopted linocut enthusiastically for political graphic work, valuing its bold, high-contrast visual language.