Croegaert, Georges (Belgian/French 1848 - 1923), Le Probleme Difficile, undated, oil on wood panel, 13.25 x 16 inches, signed and inscribed Georges Croegaert Paris lower right, framed in a period Victorian scrolling and gilded frame measuring 27 x 29 inches. Georges Croegaert was a Belgian academic painter who spent most of his career in Paris. He is known for his genre paintings of elegant society women and humorous depictions of cardinals executed in a highly realist style. He was born in Antwerp. He studied at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts. He moved to Paris in 1876 where he remained active as an artist for the rest of his life. He had a successful career as a portrait and genre painter. His paintings received critical acclaim and were sought after by English and American collectors. He exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1882 and 1914 and in Vienna in 1888.