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Vernissage has its roots in the old practice of setting aside a day before an exhibition's opening for artists to varnish and put finishing touches to their paintings-a tradition that reportedly dates to at least 1809, when it was instituted by England's Royal Academy of Arts. (One famous member of the Academy, Joseph Mallord William Turner, was notorious for making major changes to his paintings on this day.) English speakers originally referred to this day of finishing touches simply as "varnishing day," but sometime around 1912 we also began using the French term vernissage (literally, "varnishing"). Today, however, you are more likely to encounter vino than varnish at a vernissage, which is often a gala event marking the opening of an exhibition.
Examples of vernissage in a Sentence
Jaimie Potters, Town & Country, 21 Aug. 2023
Despite the fancy soirees like these – with drinks and appetizer trays fit for a Paris vernissage – sandbags still shield monuments and buildings across the city.
—Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Mar. 2023
Housed within Somerset House, the fair held its vernissage party on Wednesday evening.
—Jaimie Potters, Town & Country, 10 Oct. 2019
Like its other iterations in Miami and Basel, Switzerland, the weeklong calendar of events is more than just an art fair; buyers abound and circulate at dinners, there are artist meet and greets aplenty, and, yes, more than a handful of vernissages.
—Zachary Weiss, Vogue, 26 Mar. 2019
The houses began aggressively hyping a never-ending flow of new inventory, and with it, a jet-set lifestyle of multi-million dollar auctions, exclusive gallery dinners, and VIP art fair vernissages.
—Rachel Wetzler, The New Republic, 26 Feb. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vernissage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
borrowed from French, "day before an exhibition opens reserved for artists to varnish and put finishing touches on their paintings" (probably after English varnishing day), literally, "varnishing," from vernisser "to varnish" (going back to Middle French vernecier, vernicier) + -age -age — more at varnish entry 2
1912, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Vernissage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vernissage. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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