"Bonachelli"
I think you'll find you're thinking of Botticelli. I think the reason he would be chosen is because he was a painter, as were all the others bar Donatello. Although Michelangelo sculpted, he is best known, as are Raphael and Da Vinci, for his painting. Artists who were only sculptors were, and still are, overlooked and perhaps even considered 'lesser' artists than painters.
Donatello may have been chosen for the turtle as he was a sculptor and so worked more obviously with his hands as Donatello the turtle does with his gadgets. Besides, Donatello sounds cooler than Botticelli.
