diff --git a/otk/widget.cc b/otk/widget.cc
index 139cb259..9f574ee9 100644
--- a/otk/widget.cc
+++ b/otk/widget.cc
@@ -463,8 +463,7 @@ void Widget::setEventDispatcher(EventDispatcher *disp)
 void Widget::exposeHandler(const XExposeEvent &e)
 {
   EventHandler::exposeHandler(e);
-  _dirty = true;
-  update();
+  XClearArea(**display, _window, e.x, e.y, e.width, e.height, false);
 }
 
 void Widget::configureHandler(const XConfigureEvent &e)