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Mark 12:42 (NLT)
Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
Not specified in Bible.

LIGHTING NOTES:
This scene is inside the court of the Temple, in Jerusalem. The light for this scene is diffused sunlight, coming from the left & right ends of the corridor-like space the figures are in.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
Jesus (in blue outer robe & head scarf) is sitting in the background, watching the worshippers put their offerings into the Temple treasury chest. James (son of Zebedee and brother of John) is on the left of Jesus & Matthew/Levi on the right.
The focus of attention is the poor widow in the foreground, putting her two small coins into the treasury chest.
There is a rich woman in the foreground, on the right, looking impatiently at the poor widow.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
This scene shows the widow dropping her 2 small coins into the offering box. Apparently they had metal funnels on the top! I have the poor widow dressed in shabby clothes, & she is looking up to heaven & silently giving thanks to God. Notice the frayed edges to her robe & the patch on it.

Contrasting the poor widow is the rich woman on the right, dressed in her fine clothes & looking unsympathetically (& annoyed at being kept waiting) at the widow! I have deliberately designed & placed the 2 foreground figures to provide a strong contrast to each other: the poverty-striken widow’s simple clothing contrasting with the impatient-looking rich woman in her splendid attire.

In the background we can see Jesus guesting at the widow & talking to James (on the left) & Matthew/Levi, on the right. Being a former tax collected I thought I’d put Matthew/Levi in the scene, looking a bit confused at Jesus’ observation that the poor widow had just “put more into the collection than anyone else”. That statement probably confused him!