There is a substantial literature in Muslim and European languages that fall under the broad rubric of biography. Its forerunner is the tradition of hagiography or sacred biography that deals with the lives of the Prophets and saints. The multi-volume 'Saviours of the Spirit of Islam' by Mawlana Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi, first written in Urdu and published in the 1950s contain biographies very much in the hagiographic vein. The author's purpose was precisely to inspire, not to attempt critical scholarship or reveal a personal or idiosyncratic appreciation of each figure.
Modern biography is rather different.
There are many different styles of biographical narrative, among which is prominently the detailed studies of famous individuals. Politicians who have left behind large archives are often the subjects of such detail studies, but avant garde writers and artists have also earned close study. The overwhelming detail of a serious biography of such figures often limits its appeal. Some of this scholarship is aimed at the general reader, others at the specialist. A writer such as Thackeray, for instance, or the composer Berlioz, would be rather unexciting subjects to be concerned with since the work of an artist is mostly quiet slogging at the desk or piano or in a studio.