"Saint Jerome with a nude man" is a Creation of Man (triptych wing)

Pousse Cornet, from Blois, France, sells on 6 November 2016 a "Flemish School, late 16th century" panel painting of "Saint Jerome with a nude man", estimated at 4,000 to 5,000 Euro.

Their catalogue isn't available yet on their own webpage, but can be seen on interenchères already. The image for sale is the main image of the sale apparently, as it is the one depicted on their webpage at the announcement of the sale.

The sad thing is that it isn't a "Saint Jerome with a nude man", but a "God creating Adam" instead. The depiction of God as a pope (with the triple tiara) is unusual, hence the misinterpretation, but it isn't unique for paintings of the period. It can e.g. be seen in a miniature by Simon Bening whch somewhat resembles the painting for sale, and most famously perhaps in the Ghent Altarpiece of course.

The misinterpretation is also due to the lion at the feet of God (a common attribute of Saint Jerome is the lion at his feet); here it is not connected to the person above, but to the sheep on the left, depicting the lamb and the lion lying peacefully together in Eden. In the background one can also see a unicorn and a camel

Remarkably, the work for sale has also a painted reverse, a grisaille of Abraham kneeling before the three angels. Considering that this is the announcement of a son, and that the other side shows a creation of man, and also taking into account that this side is in grisaille, it seems highly likely that this painting is the wing of  a triptych, probably with a nativity or adoration as the central panel (no idea what could be on the other wing though, perhaps a creation of Eve and a John the Baptist?). The grisaille is the closed side, the creation of man is the opened side.

This work is 100 by 72 cm, so the central panel will have been about 160 by 100 cm, and the total width of the triptych when opened will have been about 320 cm (frame included). Not cathedral size, but far from a private devotional work and quite an impressive work probably. The quality is not really consistent, the Adam is the best part, and I'm not convinced that front and back are by the same painter.

I can not find a single triptych with this kind of subject though, so either this one is rather original, or I'm just inventing things and this is a standalone work which just happens to have been painted both sides... But gloomy works like the triptych by Vrancke Vanderstockt (picture from the RKD), from the late 15th century, or an anonymous one from 1540 (info at RKD as well), seem to suggest a possibility of similar but more upbeat triptychs as well.

The closest thematically is probably the 1587 triptych by Bernaert de Rijckere from Kortrijk (picture from the RKD again), which has a creation of Adam on the left side. The reverse grisaille don't have a story-painting though but statue-like images). This triptych is 330 by 285 cm, so my suggested size seems plausible as well.

Whether the other panels still exist is not known to me, having either some provenance or an artist for this panel might help. The style is close to the works of Coxie and Frans Floris, or even Maerten van Heemskerck, but is by neither of those, and more likely by a slightly later follower of them (I should be able to pinpoint the artist better than this, but it eludes me for the moment). But despite this, the estimate seems about right, and in return you get a painting where you can do a lot of research over the next few years to try to find out more about it.

 UPDATE: the Adam seems to be related to an Adam and Eve by Jacob de Backer (ca. 1540-1600), an Antwerp Mannerist. The Adam and Eve is for sale at Dorotheum on 18 October 2016, estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 Euro. (sold for €54,620!)

UPDATE 2: the auction house has now updated the description to give the correct subject, and an attribution to "Pourbus".  No indication which Pourbus this is supposed to be (presumably Frans the Elder). Still no estimate either.