The Dome of the Royal Chapel of the Invalides is made of wood covered with lead. Completed in 1708, it consists of 12 compartments decorated with military trophies, gilded with gold leaf. The dome was redecorated in 1766, during the first Empire in 1807, then in 1869, 1937 and for the last time in 1989, on the occasion of the bicentenary of the Revolution. From 1869 onwards, the gilding process – which required twelve kilos of gold – was carried out by electroplating. The impression of lightness of the dome is accentuated by the quartered pattern of the roof, whose gilding emphasises and guides the eye to the cross.