What does "vernissage" mean?

A private viewing of an art exhibition before it opens to the public.

What is a synonym for "vernissage"?

Common synonyms include: demonstration, display, enactment, exhibit, exhibition, exposition.

Pronounced //ˌvɛɹnəˈsɑʒ//.

//ˌvɛɹnəˈsɑʒ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A private viewing of an art exhibition before it opens to the public.
"[…] the artists' association will be forced to advance or delay its vernissage and opening day."

"[…] the artists' association will be forced to advance or delay its vernissage and opening day."

From French vernissage, derived from the earlier habit of the artists to varnish their paintings the day before the opening of an exhibition.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.