St. Vincent Ferrer is one of eight saints Lorenzo Costa painted in the late 1400s. The graceful figures originally flanked a central devotional image on a monumental altarpiece, likely in or near Bologna, Italy. The saints are identifiable by their attributes and by their names, which are inscribed underneath them in a northern Italian dialect. Devotees used this information to find the saints who were most relevant to their personal needs. St. Vincent holds a scroll and wears a Dominican habit (robes). The scroll refers to his doctorate in theology, while his clothing indicates his role as a Dominican friar. Builders prayed to St. Vincent because of his work as a missionary building up the church.