It was recently possible to establish extensive tree-ring chronologies for beech wood, which were successfully employed in the dating of panels of early German artists. Individual boards of beech panels, like those used by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1742-1553), frequently contain more than 150 annual rings, thus representing a sufficiently large period of time to allow for the relative and absolute dating of the panels. Altogether 35 panels of this artist were investigated as assigned to their time of origin. The recurrence of certain characteristic ring sequences revelals that some panels had been assembled from boards of one and the same tree. The technique employed in the manufacture of beech panels was different from that of contemporary oak panels; sapwood was included regularly. This might give the art historian additional information regarding the accuracy of dating.