The forward movement of Dronov took place relatively calmly and smoothly, despite his obvious predilection for irony, grotesque and good humor. Unlike Tugarinov, he is less inclined to meaningful and formal adventures. For example, his "Wise Men" (1998) and one of the last works "Swamp" (2008) are comparable in their compositional structure to Rodin's "Citizens of Calais", especially since the specific belonging to Dronov is not found in any particular era in the heroes. "Fisherman", "Old man with brushwood" or "Old King" is also universal images for all times. And "The Last Day of Pompeii" (1998) plunges the viewer into deep antiquity. Moreover, the sculptor does not resort to any special formal tricks, depicting the folds of clothing frozen in bronze, embracing emptiness instead of the human body, thereby reminding of the tragedy that befell an Italian city covered with volcanic ash. Despite the noted substantial predilection for eternal themes, Dronov remains our contemporary. To make sure of this, it is enough refer to his famous sculpture, which in the old catalog is called "Winter Funeral", and in the most recent one, published for the exhibition in the gallery "Naschokin's House", – "Saxophonist". A stooped elderly man in wearing a hat with earflaps and felt boots, he holds a musical instrument in his hands, which clearly contradicts his simple appearance. But it is this contrast that is the conscious idea of the sculptor, who seeks to convey the drama, absurdity and everyday life of a stopped moment, seen in our very Russian life, where "Chopin is tormented by labuhi" and no surrealism doesn't seem strange. However, such targeted concreteness is rare in Dronov's art. He is closer to stingy plastic formulas, invariably distinguished by a clear rhythm of forms: "Robin Hood", "Girl on the ball", "Hunter", "Pioneer", "Organ grinder", "Skater"... With all differences in themes and images in these and similar works , individual stylistics and sharpness of observation are clearly discernible, as well as a rare ability to identify an accurate gesture. The rhythmics of "Night Guests" (1987), "Octopus" (1993) and "Swan Lake" (1994) are at all akin to black-and-white slow motion filming, mesmerizing the viewer. At first glance, such works as "Sausage" (1997), "Weights" (1998), "Ship" (2000), "Bench", "Valenki" (both 2001), "Button" (2002) look apart. But in principle, their appearance is quite logical and it's not just about Mikhail's inherent mild humor. There is a love for a clearly expressed plastic form, for a lapidary style. By the way, Drones do not focus excessively on the latter, constantly returning to what is considered to be a sculptural classic. In particular, "Holy Peter" (2001 – the initial small version and 2008 – the big figure) is a vivid example of such a traditional approach. The powerful monumental figure of the seated apostle is weighted with large folds of long-skirted clothing. But to aggravate the monumentality of Drones, it does not always resort to formal weighting and increasing the size. His miniature "Hippopotamus" (2002), for example, is in no way inferior to any large-scale sculptures of different years. The reason for this is that Dronov has a gravitation to monumentality is not related to the size of things, but to the inner feeling a monumental rhythm. And there is another curious "generic" feature that manifests itself in the art of many artists. It's about the self-portraiture of the portrait genre. "Saint Peter" is, of course, not a self–portrait, but, apparently, not only for the sake of a joke, Drones sat down and took a picture not far from the mighty figure of the apostle in the same pose. Mikhail Dronov's art gives the impression of thoroughness and calm confidence, when a person can say not only "I am looking for", but "I found it."
Sculpture (Latin sculpture, from sculpo – I carve, I carve), sculpture, plastic art is a type of fine art whose works have a three–dimensional shape, three-dimensional and tangible. This kind of art originated in ancient times. The first carved figurines date back to the Stone Age. In ancient Egypt, statues served as decorations for buildings, masters depicted gods, kings, mythological creatures. This art reached a special heyday in Ancient Greece, where sculptors created figures of gods, rulers, heroes of myths and public figures. In Russia, sculpture was called sculpting. This kind of art traces its history back to pagan times, from wooden idols. After the adoption of Christianity, temples began to be built in cities, their walls were decorated with reliefs with floral or geometric ornaments. In the XVIII century, secular sculpture began to develop. Architects erected palaces, the facades of which were richly decorated with statues. The sculpture is divided into a round one, freely placed in space, and a relief in which three-dimensional images are located on a plane. Sculpture can be divided into types – easel, monumental, monumental and decorative sculpture, small plastic. The sculpture reproduces the real world, but the main object of the image is a person, through whose appearance his inner world, character, psychological state, as well as the human body, the transmission of movement (head, bust, torso, statue, sculpture group) is transmitted. Images of the animal world make up the animalistic genre of sculpture. The expressiveness of the sculpture is achieved by constructing basic plans, light planes, volumes, masses, rhythmic ratios. The clarity and integrity of the silhouette are of great importance. Textured surface treatment and details complement the expressiveness of the plastic solution of the sculptural image. The materials of the sculpture are stone (marble, limestone, sandstone, granite, etc.), wood, bone, metal (bronze, copper, iron, etc.), clay and baked clay (ceramics – terracotta, majolica, faience, porcelain, etc.), gypsum. The complex and multi-stage technology of sculpture involves a lot of physical labor. Various technical methods are used – modeling, carving, carving, casting, chasing, forging, welding, various materials are used – stone, metal, wood, clay, gypsum, ceramics, glass, plasticine, wax, synthetic polymer compounds. In addition to the author's work of the artist (modeling, carving, processing of solid materials), an important role in sculpture is played by the auxiliary work of craftsmen (stone cutting, molding, casting, chasing, etc.). One of the most ancient forms of art. Various forms of sculpture have existed among all peoples of the world for a long time: female figures and reliefs of the Neolithic (Venus from Savignano (Modena), 10-8 thousand BC). Developed forms of sculpture are known among the peoples of the Ancient East (Queen Nefertiti, 14th century BC, Berlin State Museums; reliefs from the palace of Ashurnasirapal II in Nimrud, 883-859 BC, London, British Museum), Ancient America. An important stage in the history of sculpture is antiquity, the ideals of which were the creation of the image of a harmoniously developed person (Miron, Phidias, Polycletus, Praxiteles, Scopas).
