#GtkLayout is similar to #GtkDrawingArea in that it’s a “blank slate” and doesn’t do anything but paint a blank background by default. It's different in that it supports scrolling natively (you can add it to a #GtkScrolledWindow), and it can contain child widgets, since it’s a #GtkContainer. However if you’re just going to draw, a #GtkDrawingArea is a better choice since it has lower overhead.