Arguments in favor of violating copyrights are getting old. It's easier than ever before to create images, music, and movies. If you don't want to play by the copyright rules that content creators have opted into, create your own works and release them public domain, and get other people to do so, and then instead of breaking the law, you can legally enjoy public domain stuff. Like in this case, I'm sure there are millions of similar images released public domain or creative commons, so why pick the image that has a license fee?
It might fall under a permitted derivative work but it looks like they just did a freehand drawing of the photo explicitly intending to provide an equivalent substitute. If it doesn't qualify as a derivative work it might be willful copyright infringement.