In 2005, Shanghai Art Museum held an important solo exhibition for Chu Teh-Chun: Exposition des oeuvres récentes de Chu Teh Chun, and the artist painted a few works specially for this exhibition, and Le poids du devenir, is the only triptych among these works. According to known documents and literature, there are only 8 known large-scale triptych by Chu Teh-Chun. Among them, 2 are currently in museum collections, and only 6 are in private collection, among which is the current lot. Le poids du devenir is the same size as Dynamisme vert, another triptych currently held in National Art Museum of China, Beijing, with similar composition, indicating Le poids du devenir’s incredible aesthetic and collection value.

From No,213, another Chu Teh-Chun painting from the same auction as the current lot, it is clear that during the 1960s, Chu Teh-Chun gained his understanding of Chinese art and culture through studying ancient Chinese paintings, especially ink landscape painting from the Song dynasty. After 4 decades of artistic creation, Chu has reached a mature creative state during the 2000s; he has absorbed Chinese paintings, landscape and the universe within himself, and his spirituality was his inspiration for artistic creations. Le poids du devenir displays the tension between light and darkness, echoing the Taoist ideology of Yin and Yang, and chiaroscuro in classical oil paintings. The composition of this work is fluid and dynamic, as if reflecting the landscape of mountains and rivers. The vibrant palette shone like gemstones, embellished with Chu's favorite turquoise colour, displaying the artist's most famed artistic characteristics of his 50 years of art career.

During the same period of time, Chu’s made great advances in the international art scene. In 2003, Chu Teh-Chun was commissioned by the Shanghai Opera House to create a grand-scale oil painting; Symphonie Festive was first exhibited in Opéra Garnier in Paris for a month, then permanently displayed at the central lobby of the Shanghai Opera House. During this period, Chu exhibited extensively in Asia and Europe, achieving great success at the international art scene. Created in 2005, Le poids du devenir spans close to 4 meters; the artist painted a grand and ambitious composition on the canvas, reflecting the artist's aspiration for his international career. As one of the most iconic paintings of Chu’s oeuvre in the 2000s, the current lot has been exhibited extensively, it was exhibited in Shanghai Art Museum's Exposition des oeuvres récentes de Chu Teh Chun in 2005, New York, Marlborough gallery's Chu Teh-Chun Paintings in 2006, Tokyo, The Ueno Royal Museum's Solo Exhibition of Chu Teh-Chun in 2007, and Taipei Museum of History's Chu Teh-Chun 88 Retrospective in 2008.

二〇〇五年，上海美術館為朱德群舉辦大型個展〈朱德群近作展〉，藝術家為此展特殊創作數幅作品，而其中唯一一幅三聯屏作品，便是《力爭上游》。按已知文獻記載，目前所知朱德群的三聯屏巨尺幅僅有八張，而其中兩幅現藏於美術館，只有六幅現藏於私人收藏，《力爭上游》便是其中一幅。本作與現藏於北京中國美術館之朱德群三聯屏《綠色活力》（1982年作，195 x 390 cm）尺幅相同，畫面構圖互相呼應，足可見其美學及收藏價值。

從本場拍賣另一朱德群作品《213號構圖》中可見，一九六〇年代，朱德群對中國藝術文化的理解源自於對傳統中國畫之理解與臨摹，尤其是宋代山水畫。而時隔四十載，二〇〇〇年代朱德群的藝術造詣已達到登峰造極的地步，他已將古畫、自然山川、宇宙萬象裝載於心，以內心的精神啟發與造化為創作靈感源泉，造就藝術家風格成熟時期之系列作品。《力爭上游》著重呈現光陰之間的豐富張力，呼應道家陰陽哲學與古典油畫「明暗對照」的技巧；構圖起伏流暢，宛如山川河流之壯景；色彩斑駁鮮艷，宛如寶石，更有朱德群最為鐘愛的孔雀藍色與青綠色點綴，彰顯出藝術家經歷創作生涯五十載所達到得心應手之境。

與此同時，朱德群的國際藝術事業亦有進一步的發展。二〇〇三年，朱德群受邀為上海大劇院繪製巨幅油畫《復興的氣韻》，此作先在巴黎歌劇院展出近一個月，隨後安置於上海大劇院中央大堂。同一時期，藝術家接連於亞、歐各大城市舉辦展覽，在國際藝壇創下斐然成績。本作創作於二〇〇五年，尺幅近四米，畫面壯闊大氣，藝術家更為其命名《力爭上游》，可見此時期藝術家對自身藝術發展的雄偉壯志。《力爭上游》亦作為藝術家二〇〇〇年代標誌性的作品之一，展出於全球各地展覽中，包括二〇〇五年上海美術館〈朱德群近作展〉、二〇〇六年紐約馬勃洛畫廊〈朱德群展〉、二〇〇八年東京上野之森美術館〈大象無形－朱德群展〉及二〇〇八台北歷史博物館〈朱德群八十八回顧展〉，可見其重要學術價值。