My house is French, my land is Russian
How Nikolai Dronnikov became a chronicler of our diaspora in Paris and immortalized Notre-Dame
Kolya, you are a titan, the mountains rumble
Kolya, you are a man, the meadows sing
Kolya, you are a master, the rivers whisper
Kolya, you are a friend, Aigi creaks
— Gennady Aigi to Nikolai Dronnikov
In the picturesque town of Honfleur on the Atlantic coast, an exhibition titled "Nikolai Dronnikov: The Russian Soul of Paris" welcomes its visitors...
The current retrospective of Nikolai Dronnikov shows Paris, its former beauty...
No Russian master has devoted as many paintings to the capital...
Nikolai Egorovich Dronnikov became known as the "chronicler of the Russian diaspora"...
...With the method of "samizdat," self-publishing in secret...
It is unclear to what extent his fascination with Cézanne and Matisse influenced Nikolai's destiny...
He considers himself a skhimnikhe — a hermit who rarely leaves his cell...
He also had close communication with a descendant of the witness to Pushkin's duel...
In the 21st century, Nikolai Dronnikov has returned to Russia several times with his paintings and books...
"Art should be accessible to all, whether in Russia or France..." says Dronnikov.
— Yuri Kovalenko, correspondent of "Literaturnaya Gazeta," Paris