diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/_backend_gtk.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/_backend_gtk.py
index 565d92932023..ac443730e28a 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/_backend_gtk.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/_backend_gtk.py
@@ -143,7 +143,6 @@ def __init__(self, canvas, num):
         super().__init__(canvas, num)
 
         if gtk_ver == 3:
-            self.window.set_wmclass("matplotlib", "Matplotlib")
             icon_ext = "png" if sys.platform == "win32" else "svg"
             self.window.set_icon_from_file(
                 str(cbook._get_data_path(f"images/matplotlib.{icon_ext}")))