Francis Bacon was a remarkable figure: an artist who constantly claimed that one could not talk about painting - yet he repeatedly tried to do so, even with different conversation partners. Michael Peppiatt was a close friend and companion of the painter for thirty years. He has written the most important biography about him. Here, for the first time, we present the conversations he had with Bacon over a span of 26 years in German. The publication is complemented by two texts by the author, also appearing in German for the first time, which deal with "Francis Bacon at Work" and the significance of van Gogh as an eminent role model for the English artist. It is always about work: questions of methodology, discipline, concentration, and inspiration, as well as inquiries into the appropriation of foreign materials or - the logical reference point of every discussion.