Here's an even easier fix: as far as I can tell (by looking at a small sample of the render() methods), the anti-aliased version of GnomeCanvas does not need the items to be realized at all. Please test the new attached patch instead of my earlier try. I haven't run into any trouble with it when using Xournal. I will try to get some testing with other applications using an anti-aliased canvas.
Here's an even easier fix: as far as I can tell (by looking at a small sample of the render() methods), the anti-aliased version of GnomeCanvas does not need the items to be realized at all. Please test the new attached patch instead of my earlier try. I haven't run into any trouble with it when using Xournal. I will try to get some testing with other applications using an anti-aliased canvas.