It is thought that Giorgione and Titian were the first painters to use a reclining nude woman as
the subject of a
painting. Where, before their time, such a position occurs, as on some Roman sarcophagi, the
figure is only a
detail, filling in the corners to complete the design. The use of the nude woman in such a way
was secondary to
the main design. Giorgione and Titian in both sculpture and painting elevated the reclining
nude to a significant
status, and this is the teeth of opposition from the Christian Church to all things carnal.