...we should not forget, that there are on Commons some of the most beautiful images I've ever seen in my entire life.
Free. As in Speech.
A look at the lists for the Picture of the Year should convince you of that.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Picture_of_the_Year/2009/Galleries
Cheers,
Delphine PS. A smallish selection here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Notafish/Worthy_of_note_by_others