Model Test RED examined the aging properties of modern paintings using the example of monochrome painting. For this purpose, Nana Petzet created 73 monochrome paintings. Each painting was subdivided into three sections, featuring the three most commonly applied painting techniques. All phases of development were accurately documented and individual divergences were noted. While exemplar No. 1, as a reference exemplar, was stored under ideal conservation conditions, the other paintings have, since the beginning of the test on 6 December 1991, been presented in a total of 14 solo and group shows in Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The aging process of the models was examined and documented at regular intervals. Important stations of the Model Test RED were: Galerie Sylvana Lorenz, Paris, 1992; Galerie Analix, Geneva, 1992; Kunstraum München, 1993 and Nationalgalerie Berlin, 1993. Particularly after the as yet final presentation at the Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, a consistent pattern of damage became evident. Art may, therefore, provide ideal grounds for experimental arrangements, if and when it is placed fully to the service of its own scientific exploration.