diff --git a/libs/canvas/container.cc b/libs/canvas/container.cc
index f6e00950fe..8e1fa1a716 100644
--- a/libs/canvas/container.cc
+++ b/libs/canvas/container.cc
@@ -46,6 +46,28 @@ Container::prepare_for_render (Rect const & area) const
 void
 Container::render (Rect const & area, Cairo::RefPtr<Cairo::Context> context) const
 {
+	if (fill() || outline()) {
+
+		Rect bb (bounding_box());
+		Rect self (item_to_window (bb, false));
+		const Rect draw = self.intersection (area);
+
+		std::cerr << whoami() << " render bb " << bb << " self " << self << " area  " << area << " draw " << draw << std::endl;
+
+		if (fill()) {
+			setup_fill_context (context);
+			context->rectangle (draw.x0, draw.y0, draw.width(), draw.height());
+			context->fill_preserve ();
+		}
+
+		if (outline()) {
+			if (!fill()) {
+				context->rectangle (draw.x0, draw.y0, draw.width(), draw.height());
+			}
+			setup_outline_context (context);
+			context->stroke ();
+		}
+	}
 	Item::render_children (area, context);
 }
 
@@ -56,4 +78,3 @@ Container::compute_bounding_box () const
 	add_child_bounding_boxes ();
 	_bounding_box_dirty = false;
 }
-