Francis Bacon (1909-92) speaks openly to his close friend Michel Archimbaud, whose searching questions shed a new light on Bacon´s work. The discussion is wide-ranging, touching on painting, literature and music, with candid revelations about Bacon´s childhood, his relationship with his father, his friends and the influences which have shaped his art. It is punctuated with revealing and sometimes disparaging remarks about a whole host of artists, including among others Rubens, Blake, Monet, Cézanne, Picasso, Balthus, Giacometti, Shakespeare and Baudelaire. These interviews can be regarded as Bacon´s final vision as they took place in the artist´s studio in Paris between October 1991 and April 1992, shortly before he died.