vernissage
Americannoun
plural
vernissages-
Also called varnishing day. the day before the opening of an art exhibition traditionally reserved for the artist to varnish the paintings.
-
a reception at a gallery for an artist whose show is about to open to the public.
noun
-
a preview or the opening or first day of an exhibition of paintings
-
another term for varnishing day
Etymology
Origin of vernissage
1910–15; < French: literally, a varnishing, touching up (of paintings). See varnish, -age
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
ArkDes, Stockholm will be broadcasting a virtual vernissage of Weird Sensation Feels Good on 7 April at 16.00 BST.
From The Guardian • Mar. 31, 2020
Notoriously, there was a conspiracy of silence for two days so the death wouldn’t spoil Bacon’s vernissage.
From The Guardian • Sep. 15, 2017
Frieze holds a vernissage for collectors and V.I.P.’s.
From New York Times • May 8, 2013
Madrid's al ta sociedad was on hand�but museum authorities were not�for the vernissage of the only contemporary painting in the famous gallery: Dali's portrait of a lady riding a horse as in a surrealist dream.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ledoyen's has attained a particular celebrity as the restaurant where every one lunches on the vernissage day of the Salon.
From The Gourmet's Guide to Europe by Newnham-Davis, Lieut.-Col. (Nathaniel)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
