Siegfried Detler Bendixen (1786-1864) began his studies at the Academy in Munich in 1810, having spent some time in Italy. In 1813 he was in Hamburg and opened a school of painting in 1815. In 1832 he moved to London, and between 1833 and 1864 exhibited at the Royal Academy, the British Institution, the Society of British Artists, and the New Water-Colour Society. In addition to undertaking commissions for churches, he painted still-lifes of flowers, engraved landscapes, and executed many lithographs, notably of biblical subjects.

The gospels of Mark and Luke include the story of the widow who donates two small coins to the Temple, while wealthy individuals give much more. Jesus explains to his disciples that the small sacrifices of the poor are more meaningful to God than the lavish, but proportionately-lesser, donations of the rich.

This picturesque version of the Biblical story fits into the tradition of German interpretations of Rembrandt's work - seen in Dietrich's pair in the collection (RCIN 405521-2). Crowds gather in the Temple; in the centre foreground the widow holds a young boy by the hand, putting her penny into the collection font; a wealthy woman donates from the right; Jesus and others look on from the top of steps.