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Old documents mention the name of Hans
Deterson, a German painter, who was invited to Moscow in 1643 to paint various
objects for the tsar and teach Russian apprentices his trade. While it is clear
that Deterson was one of the first foreign professional teachers of painting in
Russia, uncertainty beclouds the portrait of Patriarch Nikon that some Russian
art students ascribe to him. Another thing is also clear, that Deterson died in
1655, leaving no positive proof of his identity on any painting that has
survived until the present. When Aleksei became Tsar, the Moscow Kremlin opened
its doors to foreign artists. In old documents we come across names such as
that of D. Wuchters, most probably a Dutchman, Peter Engels, Hans Walter, G.
Grube, Cornelius Bruien, along with Greeks, Armenians, Lithuanians, and
particularly many from Poland. Most of them worked in the Ikonaya Palata - the
Painting (Icon) Chamber - which was a department of the Armory Chamber, headed
by Hitrovo, painting portraits, decorating walls, furniture, flags and emblems,
tiles and ceramics, and almost everything, as was the fashion of that time.
This created a favorable ground for the development of ornamental art that soon
flourished in Russia.
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