Final answer:
The statement is true; Cubist artists aimed to emphasize the two-dimensional nature of the canvas, departing from traditional three-dimensional perspective and creating a new art form with multiple viewpoints.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that Cubist artists were interested in emphasizing the two-dimensional painted surface rather than recreating the illusion of three-dimensionality is true. Cubism, pioneered by Picasso and Braque, redefined the representation of space within art. Rather than adhering to traditional three-dimensional perspective, Cubist artists deconstructed subjects into geometric shapes and reconstructed them on the flat picture plane, offering multiple viewpoints and emphasizing the canvas's flatness.
During the Analytic Cubism phase, artists used muted color palettes and overlapping planes to present fragmented objects from different perspectives. With Synthetic Cubism, artists introduced brighter colors, simplified shapes, and materials such as paper to further explore the relationship between objects and space. The innovation of Cubism lies in its break from three-dimensional depiction, merging objects and space into multiple angles, thus influencing the direction of modern art movements.