diff --git a/include/ui/console.h b/include/ui/console.h
index 383dec2..6f7550e 100644
--- a/include/ui/console.h
+++ b/include/ui/console.h
@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ void curses_display_init(DisplayState *ds, int full_screen);
 int index_from_key(const char *key);
 
 /* gtk.c */
-void early_gtk_display_init(void);
+void early_gtk_display_init(int opengl);
 void gtk_display_init(DisplayState *ds, bool full_screen, bool grab_on_hover);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/include/ui/gtk.h b/include/ui/gtk.h
index b750845..ee6dffd 100644
--- a/include/ui/gtk.h
+++ b/include/ui/gtk.h
@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@
 #include <X11/XKBlib.h>
 #endif
 
+#if defined(CONFIG_OPENGL)
+#include "ui/egl-helpers.h"
+#endif
+
 /* Compatibility define to let us build on both Gtk2 and Gtk3 */
 #if GTK_CHECK_VERSION(3, 0, 0)
 static inline void gdk_drawable_get_size(GdkWindow *w, gint *ww, gint *wh)
@@ -41,6 +45,12 @@ typedef struct VirtualGfxConsole {
     cairo_surface_t *surface;
     double scale_x;
     double scale_y;
+#if defined(CONFIG_OPENGL)
+    ConsoleGLState *gls;
+    EGLContext ectx;
+    EGLSurface esurface;
+    int glupdates;
+#endif
 } VirtualGfxConsole;
 
 #if defined(CONFIG_VTE)
@@ -73,4 +83,17 @@ typedef struct VirtualConsole {
     };
 } VirtualConsole;
 
+/* ui/gtk.c */
+void gd_update_windowsize(VirtualConsole *vc);
+
+/* ui/gtk-egl.c */
+void gd_egl_init(VirtualConsole *vc);
+void gd_egl_draw(VirtualConsole *vc);
+void gd_egl_update(DisplayChangeListener *dcl,
+                   int x, int y, int w, int h);
+void gd_egl_refresh(DisplayChangeListener *dcl);
+void gd_egl_switch(DisplayChangeListener *dcl,
+                   DisplaySurface *surface);
+void gtk_egl_init(void);
+
 #endif /* UI_GTK_H */
diff --git a/ui/Makefile.objs b/ui/Makefile.objs
index 5c46870..023914c 100644
--- a/ui/Makefile.objs
+++ b/ui/Makefile.objs
@@ -31,13 +31,16 @@ ifeq ($(CONFIG_OPENGL),y)
 common-obj-y += shader.o
 common-obj-y += console-gl.o
 common-obj-y += egl-helpers.o
+common-obj-$(CONFIG_GTK) += gtk-egl.o
 endif
 
 gtk.o-cflags := $(GTK_CFLAGS) $(VTE_CFLAGS)
+gtk-egl.o-cflags := $(GTK_CFLAGS) $(VTE_CFLAGS) $(OPENGL_CFLAGS)
 shader.o-cflags += $(OPENGL_CFLAGS)
 console-gl.o-cflags += $(OPENGL_CFLAGS)
 egl-helpers.o-cflags += $(OPENGL_CFLAGS)
 
+gtk-egl.o-libs += $(OPENGL_LIBS)
 shader.o-libs += $(OPENGL_LIBS)
 console-gl.o-libs += $(OPENGL_LIBS)
 egl-helpers.o-libs += $(OPENGL_LIBS)
diff --git a/ui/gtk-egl.c b/ui/gtk-egl.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15b41f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/gtk-egl.c
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+/*
+ * GTK UI -- egl opengl code.
+ *
+ * Note that gtk 3.16+ (released 2015-03-23) has a GtkGLArea widget,
+ * which is GtkDrawingArea like widget with opengl rendering support.
+ *
+ * This code handles opengl support on older gtk versions, using egl
+ * to get a opengl context for the X11 window.
+ *
+ * This work is licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL, version 2 or later.
+ * See the COPYING file in the top-level directory.
+ */
+
+#include "qemu-common.h"
+
+#include "trace.h"
+
+#include "ui/console.h"
+#include "ui/gtk.h"
+#include "ui/egl-helpers.h"
+
+#include "sysemu/sysemu.h"
+
+/** DisplayState Callbacks (opengl version) **/
+
+void gd_egl_init(VirtualConsole *vc)
+{
+    GdkWindow *gdk_window = gtk_widget_get_window(vc->gfx.drawing_area);
+    if (!gdk_window) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+#if GTK_CHECK_VERSION(3, 0, 0)
+    Window x11_window = gdk_x11_window_get_xid(gdk_window);
+#else
+    Window x11_window = gdk_x11_drawable_get_xid(gdk_window);
+#endif
+    if (!x11_window) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    vc->gfx.ectx = qemu_egl_init_ctx();
+    vc->gfx.esurface = qemu_egl_init_surface_x11(vc->gfx.ectx, x11_window);
+
+    assert(vc->gfx.esurface);
+}
+
+void gd_egl_draw(VirtualConsole *vc)
+{
+    GdkWindow *window;
+    int ww, wh;
+
+    if (!vc->gfx.gls || !vc->gfx.ds) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    eglMakeCurrent(qemu_egl_display, vc->gfx.esurface,
+                   vc->gfx.esurface, vc->gfx.ectx);
+
+    window = gtk_widget_get_window(vc->gfx.drawing_area);
+    gdk_drawable_get_size(window, &ww, &wh);
+    surface_gl_setup_viewport(vc->gfx.gls, vc->gfx.ds, ww, wh);
+    surface_gl_render_texture(vc->gfx.gls, vc->gfx.ds);
+
+    eglSwapBuffers(qemu_egl_display, vc->gfx.esurface);
+}
+
+void gd_egl_update(DisplayChangeListener *dcl,
+                   int x, int y, int w, int h)
+{
+    VirtualConsole *vc = container_of(dcl, VirtualConsole, gfx.dcl);
+
+    if (!vc->gfx.gls || !vc->gfx.ds) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    eglMakeCurrent(qemu_egl_display, vc->gfx.esurface,
+                   vc->gfx.esurface, vc->gfx.ectx);
+    surface_gl_update_texture(vc->gfx.gls, vc->gfx.ds, x, y, w, h);
+    vc->gfx.glupdates++;
+}
+
+void gd_egl_refresh(DisplayChangeListener *dcl)
+{
+    VirtualConsole *vc = container_of(dcl, VirtualConsole, gfx.dcl);
+
+    if (!vc->gfx.esurface) {
+        gd_egl_init(vc);
+        if (!vc->gfx.esurface) {
+            return;
+        }
+        vc->gfx.gls = console_gl_init_context();
+        if (vc->gfx.ds) {
+            surface_gl_create_texture(vc->gfx.gls, vc->gfx.ds);
+        }
+    }
+
+    graphic_hw_update(dcl->con);
+
+    if (vc->gfx.glupdates) {
+        vc->gfx.glupdates = 0;
+        gd_egl_draw(vc);
+    }
+}
+
+void gd_egl_switch(DisplayChangeListener *dcl,
+                   DisplaySurface *surface)
+{
+    VirtualConsole *vc = container_of(dcl, VirtualConsole, gfx.dcl);
+    bool resized = true;
+
+    trace_gd_switch(vc->label, surface_width(surface), surface_height(surface));
+
+    if (vc->gfx.ds &&
+        surface_width(vc->gfx.ds) == surface_width(surface) &&
+        surface_height(vc->gfx.ds) == surface_height(surface)) {
+        resized = false;
+    }
+
+    surface_gl_destroy_texture(vc->gfx.gls, vc->gfx.ds);
+    vc->gfx.ds = surface;
+    if (vc->gfx.gls) {
+        surface_gl_create_texture(vc->gfx.gls, vc->gfx.ds);
+    }
+
+    if (resized) {
+        gd_update_windowsize(vc);
+    }
+}
+
+void gtk_egl_init(void)
+{
+    GdkDisplay *gdk_display = gdk_display_get_default();
+    Display *x11_display = gdk_x11_display_get_xdisplay(gdk_display);
+
+    if (qemu_egl_init_dpy(x11_display, false, false) < 0) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    display_opengl = 1;
+}
diff --git a/ui/gtk.c b/ui/gtk.c
index c58028f..2477e37 100644
--- a/ui/gtk.c
+++ b/ui/gtk.c
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ static void gd_update_geometry_hints(VirtualConsole *vc)
     gtk_window_set_geometry_hints(geo_window, geo_widget, &geo, mask);
 }
 
-static void gd_update_windowsize(VirtualConsole *vc)
+void gd_update_windowsize(VirtualConsole *vc)
 {
     GtkDisplayState *s = vc->s;
 
@@ -581,6 +581,33 @@ static void gd_switch(DisplayChangeListener *dcl,
     }
 }
 
+static const DisplayChangeListenerOps dcl_ops = {
+    .dpy_name             = "gtk",
+    .dpy_gfx_update       = gd_update,
+    .dpy_gfx_switch       = gd_switch,
+    .dpy_gfx_check_format = qemu_pixman_check_format,
+    .dpy_refresh          = gd_refresh,
+    .dpy_mouse_set        = gd_mouse_set,
+    .dpy_cursor_define    = gd_cursor_define,
+};
+
+
+#if defined(CONFIG_OPENGL)
+
+/** DisplayState Callbacks (opengl version) **/
+
+static const DisplayChangeListenerOps dcl_egl_ops = {
+    .dpy_name             = "gtk-egl",
+    .dpy_gfx_update       = gd_egl_update,
+    .dpy_gfx_switch       = gd_egl_switch,
+    .dpy_gfx_check_format = console_gl_check_format,
+    .dpy_refresh          = gd_egl_refresh,
+    .dpy_mouse_set        = gd_mouse_set,
+    .dpy_cursor_define    = gd_cursor_define,
+};
+
+#endif
+
 /** QEMU Events **/
 
 static void gd_change_runstate(void *opaque, int running, RunState state)
@@ -637,6 +664,13 @@ static gboolean gd_draw_event(GtkWidget *widget, cairo_t *cr, void *opaque)
     int ww, wh;
     int fbw, fbh;
 
+#if defined(CONFIG_OPENGL)
+    if (vc->gfx.gls) {
+        gd_egl_draw(vc);
+        return TRUE;
+    }
+#endif
+
     if (!gtk_widget_get_realized(widget)) {
         return FALSE;
     }
@@ -1676,16 +1710,6 @@ static GtkWidget *gd_create_menu_machine(GtkDisplayState *s)
     return machine_menu;
 }
 
-static const DisplayChangeListenerOps dcl_ops = {
-    .dpy_name             = "gtk",
-    .dpy_gfx_update       = gd_update,
-    .dpy_gfx_switch       = gd_switch,
-    .dpy_gfx_check_format = qemu_pixman_check_format,
-    .dpy_refresh          = gd_refresh,
-    .dpy_mouse_set        = gd_mouse_set,
-    .dpy_cursor_define    = gd_cursor_define,
-};
-
 static GSList *gd_vc_gfx_init(GtkDisplayState *s, VirtualConsole *vc,
                               QemuConsole *con, int idx,
                               GSList *group, GtkWidget *view_menu)
@@ -1713,7 +1737,29 @@ static GSList *gd_vc_gfx_init(GtkDisplayState *s, VirtualConsole *vc,
     gtk_notebook_append_page(GTK_NOTEBOOK(s->notebook),
                              vc->tab_item, gtk_label_new(vc->label));
 
-    vc->gfx.dcl.ops = &dcl_ops;
+#if defined(CONFIG_OPENGL)
+    if (display_opengl) {
+        /*
+         * gtk_widget_set_double_buffered() was deprecated in 3.14.
+         * It is required for opengl rendering on X11 though.  A
+         * proper replacement (native opengl support) is only
+         * available in 3.16+.  Silence the warning if possible.
+         */
+#ifdef CONFIG_PRAGMA_DIAGNOSTIC_AVAILABLE
+#pragma GCC diagnostic push
+#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wdeprecated-declarations"
+#endif
+        gtk_widget_set_double_buffered(vc->gfx.drawing_area, FALSE);
+#ifdef CONFIG_PRAGMA_DIAGNOSTIC_AVAILABLE
+#pragma GCC diagnostic pop
+#endif
+        vc->gfx.dcl.ops = &dcl_egl_ops;
+    } else
+#endif
+    {
+        vc->gfx.dcl.ops = &dcl_ops;
+    }
+
     vc->gfx.dcl.con = con;
     register_displaychangelistener(&vc->gfx.dcl);
 
@@ -1876,8 +1922,6 @@ void gtk_display_init(DisplayState *ds, bool full_screen, bool grab_on_hover)
     GtkDisplayState *s = g_malloc0(sizeof(*s));
     char *filename;
 
-    gtk_init(NULL, NULL);
-
     s->window = gtk_window_new(GTK_WINDOW_TOPLEVEL);
 #if GTK_CHECK_VERSION(3, 2, 0)
     s->vbox = gtk_box_new(GTK_ORIENTATION_VERTICAL, 0);
@@ -1954,8 +1998,24 @@ void gtk_display_init(DisplayState *ds, bool full_screen, bool grab_on_hover)
     gd_set_keycode_type(s);
 }
 
-void early_gtk_display_init(void)
+void early_gtk_display_init(int opengl)
 {
+    gtk_init(NULL, NULL);
+
+    switch (opengl) {
+    case -1: /* default */
+    case 0:  /* off */
+        break;
+    case 1: /* on */
+#if defined(CONFIG_OPENGL)
+        gtk_egl_init();
+#endif
+        break;
+    default:
+        g_assert_not_reached();
+        break;
+    }
+
 #if defined(CONFIG_VTE)
     register_vc_handler(gd_vc_handler);
 #endif
diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index 15bccc4..26b1e7e 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -2047,6 +2047,15 @@ static DisplayType select_display(const char *p)
                 } else {
                     goto invalid_gtk_args;
                 }
+            } else if (strstart(opts, ",gl=", &nextopt)) {
+                opts = nextopt;
+                if (strstart(opts, "on", &nextopt)) {
+                    request_opengl = 1;
+                } else if (strstart(opts, "off", &nextopt)) {
+                    request_opengl = 0;
+                } else {
+                    goto invalid_gtk_args;
+                }
             } else {
             invalid_gtk_args:
                 fprintf(stderr, "Invalid GTK option string: %s\n", p);
@@ -4012,7 +4021,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
 
 #if defined(CONFIG_GTK)
     if (display_type == DT_GTK) {
-        early_gtk_display_init();
+        early_gtk_display_init(request_opengl);
     }
 #endif
 #if defined(CONFIG_SDL)
