Expert, adept, artist, artiste, virtuoso, wizard are comparable when they designate a person who shows mastery in a subject, an art, or a profession or who reveals extraordinary skill in execution, performance, or technique.
Expert implies successful experience, broad knowledge of one’s subject, and distinguished achievements; it is applied specifically to one who is recognized as an authority in his field.
Adept connotes understanding of the mysteries of some art or craft or penetration into secrets beyond the reach of exact science. It tends to imply sublety or ingenuity.
Artist stresses creative imagination and extraordinary skill in execution or in giving outward form to what the mind conceives. More than any other word in this group it stresses skill in performance and the factors (as perfection in workmanship, loving attention to detail, and a feeling for material) that are pertinent thereto.
Artiste applies especially to public performers (as actors, singers, and dancers) but may occasionally be applied to workers in crafts where adeptness and taste are indispensable to distinguished achievement.
Virtuoso, though often close to artist in meaning, stresses the outward display of great technical skill or brilliance in execution rather than the inner passion for perfection or beauty. It is applied chiefly to performers on musical instruments and especially to pianists, violinists, and cellists.
Wizard implies such skill and knowledge or such excellence in performance as seems to border on the magical.