Krisztian -
I am passing familiar with art legalese and am guilty of using photographs by living photographers as subject matter for my art, but long ago.
In fact, the Mona Lisa is certainly in the Public Domain. You can draw or paint her freely and as often as you like, and if you can engineer making money from such art, you are not breaking any laws, UNLESS you are attempting to forge the original and pass it off as real.
In the case of contemporary photographs by living photographers (or artworks by living artists) you would be courting legal danger were you to publish (i.e. display) your work as if it were strictly original. Your interpretation would be open to question by the author of the original photo, provided that person both saw it and became offended enough to pursue you legally.
The surest way to avoid this problem if you intend to use the work of other artists ad photographers as "models" for your own artworks would be to not sell the finished product. Avoiding publishing it or making money from it in any way would also be advisable.
But the sting of law is expensive both for pursuer and the hunted. More than likely, you would probably first receive a formal "cease and desist" letter from the offended party's attorneys. If you chose to ignore it, you might be heading into the deep end of the legal cesspool.
A good place to acquaint yourself with legal issues in relation to copyright art is at www.lawgirl.com
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