diff --git a/js/src/mpl_widget.js b/js/src/mpl_widget.js
index 5da3773b..c8c8585d 100644
--- a/js/src/mpl_widget.js
+++ b/js/src/mpl_widget.js
@@ -142,6 +142,7 @@ var MPLCanvasView = widgets.DOMWidgetView.extend({
 
         var canvas = this.canvas = document.createElement('canvas');
         canvas.style.display = 'block';
+        canvas.style.position = 'absolute';
         canvas.style.left = 0;
         canvas.style.top = 0;
         canvas.style.zIndex = 0;