Did any of these artists ever meet?

Question

Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael) and Donato Bardi (Donatello) are some of the most prominent and influential artists of the Renaissance period. Three of the four (Leonardo, Raphael and Michaelangelo) were all alive at roughly the same time (although da Vinci was a teenager when Donatello died in 1466). My question is, is there any evidence that these artists ever met, or were familiar with the works of the others to any extent? The fact that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were named after these artists, and I asked the question because of this fact is purely coincidental :-)

Answer 1

Yes, there is some evidence that these artist met or knew of each other. A prime example is Raphael's School of Athens fresco in the Vatican. In this fresco, Raphael depicts himself within the fresco, standing next to Ptolomey and Zoroaster, as well as Michelangelo possibly as Heraclitus. The artist depicts himself as youthful whereas he depicts Michelangelo, often claimed to be his rival at the time, as the brooding disheveled figure in the foreground leaning against a makeshift table. As for Donatello, he was the oldest of the four and probably would not have much contact if any with the others.