In the end of 1781 Russian heir apparent Paul (reigned as Paul I of Russia) and his spouse Maria, travelling on a Grand Tour of Europe under the thin guise of "Comte du Nord", noticed Brenna's work in Warsaw. Paul, aware that Charles Cameron needed interior decorators for his Pavlovsk palace, offered Brenna employment in Pavlovsk. Brenna and his assistant Franz Labensky were formally hired by Maria for a starting annual salary of 200 roubles. Most recent sources (Shvidkovsky) date Brenna's arrival in Russia as the beginning of 1784; Lanceray described Brenna's Russian drafts dated 1783.