The Pit and the Pendulum, second Plate 1861

"The Pit and the Pendulum, second Plate" is an etching by Alphonse Legros, depicting a scene from Edgar Allan Poe’s short story of the same name. Created in 1861, the print shows a man bound on a table as a pendulum descends slowly toward him. Legros's detailed and graphic style captures the story’s suspenseful atmosphere, making viewers experience the protagonist's fear and uncertainty. The etching, now at The Art Institute of Chicago, is a classic example of Romantic and Gothic artistic movements.