Linocut is a linoleum-based printmaking technique whose simple production has lent it an association with early advertising. It is most comparable to woodcut, in that the creator cuts material away from the flat surface of a block. When the block is inked with a roller, the cut away places don’t take any ink so that, when inked and printed, the cut away pieces become the remaining composition.

It was a time-consuming process, tedious. And it would produce a color registration that was less than clean-cut, at that. To reduce the time needed to lay the color, and to enhance the cleanness of the registration, Picasso thought of a shortcut. the “reduction” technique – one credited to his invention and that was cultivated with the support of his printer, Arnéra.