On the whole, the rise of Christianity in Europe had a repressive effect on the development of erotic art. Although the early years of Christianity were congruent with Late Antiquity and with the ideals of that time, Christian theology soon began to effect changes in attitudes towards both sexuality and art. In the late fourth and early fifth centuries, Saint Augustine (known as one of the “Four Fathers of the Latin Church”) established some of the basic theological beliefs that were to remain dominant for centuries to come. For Augustine, lust was among the gravest of sins, and had led to the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Augustine’s repeated condemnations of lust and his advocacy of chastity created the belief that the body was a vehicle for sin. Sexual representations, and sexuality in general, were thus surrounded with guilt. In fact, among the few specific representations of sexuality in the Middle Ages were symbolic depictions of the sin of lust, personified as a nude figure (usually a woman) with a toad biting at the genitals, and sometimes with snakes biting the breasts.

      Medieval images of nude figures were nearly always connected with sin, especially in the case of Adam and Eve. Shown in the Garden, they were most commonly depicted after the Temptation, when they showed shame at their nudity by trying to cover themselves. Among the most famous medieval nudes is the Romanesque lintel sculpture at the Cathedral of Saint-Lazare