diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/_tight_layout.py b/lib/matplotlib/_tight_layout.py
index 192c2dcfdcb9..d61f827613bf 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/_tight_layout.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/_tight_layout.py
@@ -338,3 +338,15 @@ def get_tight_layout_figure(fig, axes_list, subplotspec_list, renderer,
                                           rect=(left, bottom, right, top))
 
     return kwargs
+
+
+def get_renderer(fig):
+    if fig._cachedRenderer:
+        return fig._cachedRenderer
+    else:
+        canvas = fig.canvas
+        if canvas and hasattr(canvas, "get_renderer"):
+            return canvas.get_renderer()
+        else:
+            from . import backend_bases
+            return backend_bases._get_renderer(fig)